Ex-Kent businessman faces retrial in wife’s murder

The retrial of a former Kent businessman accused of the first-degree murder of his wife in Federal Way has been scheduled for April 4 at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. King County prosecutors announced Feb. 9 the second trial date for Joseph Naimo, 63, a former general manager at AAA Pest Control in Kent. He remains in custody at the county jail in Kent in lieu of $1 million bail. A judge declared a mistrial Oct. 20 for Naimo after a 12-person King County Superior Court jury split 9-3 in its decision to convict him, which requires an unanimous vote. The jury deliberated six days. Prosecutors allege that Naimo used strychnine poisoning to kill his wife after he had been in close contact with a female friend of his wife’s in the month prior to her death. Ann Marie Naimo, 53, died from ingesting strychnine, a substance used to kill pests, on Nov. 28, 2008. Joseph Naimo was the only person with his wife when she died. He called 911 to report that she was not breathing. Toxicology tests revealed Ann Naimo, had alcohol and prescription medications in her system when she died. The defense argued during the trial that Ann Naimo ingested the strychnine herself, committing suicide. In May 2009, six months after Ann Naimo died, Joseph Naimo was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder. He was serving as the general manager of AAA Pest Control and had more than 30 years experience in the pesticide business at the time. Phone records show Naimo called a good friend of Ann Naimo’s several times the day of his wife’s death and 149 times between Nov. 1 and Nov. 28, 2008, according to court records. Naimo told police he and the woman were not having a sexual relationship but had kissed and held hands prior to his wife’s death. Naimo was charged for first-degree murder in May 2009. He pleaded not guilty to the crime a month later. Judge Deborah Fleck will oversee the second trial.