Judge won't let man withdraw plea in pregnant wife's slaying

NEWARK, N.J. -- A man who admitted strangling his pregnant wife to death has lost his bid to withdraw his guilty plea.

Babatope Owoseni had argued that he wasn't given certain materials by his former attorney before he made the plea. A different attorney was representing the East Orange man when he pleaded guilty last March to aggravated manslaughter in the December 2013 killing of 26-year-old Fatoumata Owoseni.

Those materials were the autopsy report, crime scene photos, autopsy photos and a transcript of the grand jury proceedings leading to his indictment.

But a state judge ruled Friday that the 36-year-old Owoseni understood the terms of the plea agreement and that his plea was "knowing and voluntary." He now faces a 16-year state prison term when he's sentenced Feb. 19.