Man Who Sued Ann Landers Is Convicted of Murdering Wife

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. —  A man who told Ann Landers that he had killed his estranged wife and then sued the advice columnist for $100 million for publishing his letter has been convicted of murder.

Michael Knowles, 48, who testified that he talks with angels and tried to slash himself with a disposable razor in court, was convicted Thursday. The jury recommended a life sentence, and a hearing was scheduled for July 8.

The former postal worker had pleaded not guilty but admitted to police that he shot his wife, Angela, because he loved her and couldn’t let her go. He wrote to Landers from the Montgomery County Jail, where he was awaiting trial.

In his letter, Knowles said he believed his wife was having an affair with a man she met online. He said she left him and took the children.

“The court ordered me to give her $410 every two weeks,” Knowles wrote. “I thought about how unjust this was and decided to kill her.”

In her response published below the letter, Landers took Knowles to task for his assertion that the Internet led to the shooting.

“While the Internet may increase opportunities for an affair, the danger to your wife came from YOU, not the computer,” she said. “Blaming the Internet is a cop-out. You killed your wife because she left you.”

Knowles’ lawsuit against Landers is pending in federal court. He claims that by publishing his letter, Landers slandered and condemned him without a jury.

An assistant to Landers said the columnist had thought Knowles was already convicted when she chastised him in February. The column is distributed by Creators Syndicate to 1,200 newspapers worldwide.

Knowles also was found guilty of attempted capital murder of a sheriff’s deputy who responded to the shooting in March 1996.