Man sentenced to life for murdering estranged wife

A Palm Springs man who murdered his estranged wife was sentenced to life in state prison without the possibility of parole on Wednesday.

Elton Taylor, 39, was convicted in Palm Beach County Circuit Court last week of first-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife of two years, Watisha Wallace.

The same jury decided Wednesday to recommend a life sentence, after about four hours of deliberation.

Taylor, a previously convicted felon, married Wallace in 2011. They moved into a Palm Springs home along with his two kids and her three children. But the relationship eventually deteriorated and Wallace, a Palm Tran Connection bus driver, moved out two years later.

She was seeking a divorce when Taylor showed up uninvited on Oct. 21, 2013, at Wallace’s parents’ home in West Palm Beach carrying two guns.

Prosecutors Adrienne Ellis and Chrichet Mixon had argued for the death penalty, calling Wallace’s murder “shockingly evil.”

They said Taylor carred out a plan “to execute” his estranged 41-year-old wife by forcing her outside and shooting her multiple times.

During the trial, Assistant Public Defenders Christine Geraghty, Joseph Walsh and Tatiana Bertsch didn’t dispute that Taylor pulled the trigger. But they argued the slaying was not planned.

It took the jurors 10 hours of deliberations over two days to find Taylor guilty on the murder count. He also was convicted of false imprisonment, burglary, three counts of aggravated assault, and felon in possession of firearm. He was acquitted of aggravated battery.

Asking the jury to spare Taylor’s life, the defense contended he was the product of a life filled with violence, drinking, drugs, and frequent moves since he was a child.

“Elton Taylor is so much more than the worst thing he has ever done,” Bertsch said.

The murder devastated the Wallace family, said Anastasia Dexter, one of the victim’s daughters. She said her mother is greatly missed on birthdays and holidays.

“She was a special person,” Dexter said. “She was my best friend.”

mjfreeman@sun-sentinel .com, 561-243-6642 or Twitter @marcjfreeman