The State - News from Aug. 9, 1988

The body of a Merced woman who was to testify against her estranged husband has been pulled from a submerged car in the Delta-Mendota Canal, authorities said. Judith Emmert, 46, had been missing since Aug. 1, Merced County sheriff’s officials said. Officers said California Highway Patrolman Robert Emmert Sr., 46, was jailed for investigation of violating his previous release on charges of beating his wife on April 7 and shooting his son, Robert Emmert Jr., 24, when he confronted his father about the beating. The father is now being held in lieu of $1 million bail. “We treat every death of a suspicious nature as a potential homicide, and this one is especially suspicious,” Lt. Bill Blake said. Judith Emmert disappeared a week before she was to testify at a preliminary hearing to determine if the elder Emmert should stand trial for the beating and shooting.