HOUGHTON, MI (AP)-- Lawyers have given opening statements in the trial of a newlywed accused of
killing his Iranian wife after they moved to Dollar Bay so she could to seek an advanced engineering degree.
Nima Nassiri is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Sanaz Nezami. His trial began Monday in Houghton County.
The 27-year-old woman died from severe head injuries in December, a few months after arriving in the U.S. from Iran. Her heart, lungs and other organs were transplanted to seven people.
At a June court hearing, a police officer testified that Nassiri admitted to repeatedly striking his wife.
The Tehran native was preparing to start classes in January at Michigan Technological University. She and Nassiri were married in Turkey.
He's a Los Angeles-area native.
