Baptist Missionary Accused of Killing Wife on Valentines Day To Be With A Younger Woman

Baptist missionary Nathan Leuthold is accused of killing his wife, Denise Leuthold of Peoria, Illinois on Valentines Day last year.

The wife was found dead in the couple's home of a gunshot wound to the head, and at first, it was thought to be the work of a home invader.

But cops felt something wasn't right -- especially the fact that Denise was shot with the same type of gun that Nathan owned, which was now missing. And also, Nathan was allegedly having an affair with the 20-year-old girl the couple had sponsored to come to the U.S.

Leuthold is now standing trial for first degree murder after the Valentine's Day killing of his wife.

After her death, cops found searches on Leuthold's computer for "how to muffle a gun," "hitting someone over the head to knock them out," and "lethal injection." He also reportedly searched for ways to die by suicide, searches for "date rape drug," and other death methods.

They also found a day planner on which Denise had written, "I know you want me dead. Why do you want to humiliate me by running around with a 20-year-old."

The couple had met the young woman, Aina Dobilaite, when she was just 18 and they were on a Baptist mission to Lithuania. They sponsored her to come to the States so she could study.

But prosecutors say the relationship between Dobilaite and Leuthold became romantic and he killed his wife to get her out of the way.

Leuthold had texted Aina a mere 15 minutes after calling 911 to report his wife's murder. It's unclear what he wrote, but she wrote back, "Interesting" and included a smiley face. Odd stuff to be texting when your wife has just been killed!

Leuthold denies he killed his wife or was having an affair with the sponsor student.