LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — A 2nd District Judge has denied reducing bond for a man accused of strangling his ex-wife. The Lewiston Tribune reports Judge Gregory FitzMaurice left bond at $1 million Wednesday for Joseph Thomas Jr. Defense attorney Mark Monson said Thomas, a former Nez Perce County sheriff's deputy, wouldn't cause any problems if he were to make bond and be released. But FitzMaurice cited the seriousness of the offense as a reason to not reduce bond.

Thomas was convicted in 2011 of first-degree murder in the death of Beth Irby-Thomas and sentenced to 25 years. But the state Supreme Court overturned the conviction earlier this year. Their decision was based on the judge not allowing evidence that Irby-Thomas inadvertently strangled herself while engaged in the solitary practice of autoerotic asphyxia.

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