N.J. man charged with frying pan murder goes on trial

FREEHOLD, N.J. - Jurors heard opening statements Wednesday in the case against a man accused of killing his wife with a frying pan.

Securities salesman Patrick Allen, 47, is charged with killing wife Kimberly in their Middletown home in 2011.

A police officer who responded to the scene testified he saw Allen kneeling near his wife's body with the frying pan next to her.

Prosecutors say Allen had been hiding the fact that the family was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and their house was in danger of foreclosure.

The Asbury Park Press reports that Allen's attorney told jurors Kimberly Allen was aware of the financial problems and the couple was working to solve them. His attorney maintains Allen left the house following a dispute and returned to find her on the floor before calling 911, reports CBS New York.