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John Burrus pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Superior Court on charges of murdering his wife of 31 years.

Judge Thomas J. Whelan set a hearing for Monday so that Burrus’ defense attorney, Herb Weston, can argue that his client’s bail be reduced from $500,000.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Garrett Randall said his office has not yet decided whether to allege the special circumstance that Burrus, a retired newspaper reporter, killed 75-year-old Grace Burrus for financial gain.

A finding of a special circumstance by a jury could lead to the death penalty.

Prosecutors allege that Burrus bludgeoned his wife to death in her Oceanside home in June, 1990--just nine days before their divorce trial--and sent her car, containing the body, over the side of a cliff alongside County Highway S-22 near Borrego Springs, hoping her death would be viewed as a traffic fatality.

Burrus’ trial date has not been set.