West Jordan • Defense attorneys for a Salt Lake City man accused of fatally shooting a Sandy mother during a burglary attempt in her home last year on Wednesday insinuated other suspects could be responsible for the victim's murder, including the woman's husband.

On the first of a two-day preliminary hearing before 3rd District Court Judge Mark Kouris, defense attorney Brock Van de Kamp pummeled the husband of Magda Aleman with questions about whether the couple planned to divorce over financial disagreements and rumors that Israel Aleman-Gomes was dating other women. Aleman was found shot in her home near 11400 South and Tiger Tail Circle (1100 East), on July 13, 2010.

Cody Alan Reece, 31, is charged with first-degree felony homicide and burglary in connection with Aleman's slaying.

The man was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail the same day in connection with other burglaries in Aleman's neighborhood. Investigators found stains on Reece's shirt and DNA testing later determined the stains to be human blood, according to court documents.

Reece told investigators he washed blood off of his shirt and got rid of a gun he used to shoot Aleman, charges state.

Reese has prior convictions for drug and weapons possession, and driving under the influence. He was indicted in August on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. That case is pending.

But despite police evidence that points to Reece's involvement, defense attorneys insinuated that the woman's husband could have been involved with her death.

Van de Kamp raised questions about whether Aleman-Gomes, 40, was seeking a life insurance policy that he could have potentially cashed in upon his wife's death to help pay debts he'd racked up through a series of lost horse racing bets and back taxes he owed to the IRS as a result of accounting errors connected to several Rancherito's restaurants he operates throughout the Salt Lake Valley.

Aleman-Gomes admitted he owned three horses. He said he raced the three animals —named El General, La Loca and El Dorado —at events organized with a small ring of people from around Utah. He said he'd lost $2,000 on a bet before his wife's murder and said the night before her death, the couple had spoken for four hours about back taxes he owed the IRS.

Van de Kamp also questioned whether the couple disagreed about a planned trip to Disneyworld, which Aleman-Gomes wanted to forgo in order to pay back debt. The man testified he and his wife generally had a good relationship, but said they discussed divorcing a couple years ago when she threw a fork at one of their children and he became upset.

Aleman-Gomes testified he was the one to find his wife's body on the couch when he returned from a day of running errands related to work. He said he noticed the woman's face was red, but initially thought one of their three children had painted the woman's face after she fell asleep on the couch.

He went into a home office for awhile, and when he came out he again saw his wife motionless on the couch and identified the red material on her face as blood, he said. He ran to a neighbor's home to ask for help, saying he was too distracted to call 911.

"I got scared. I had never seen anyone dead and I got scared," he testified.

Van de Kamp questioned Aleman-Gomes on not immediately calling police.

"Were you scared of [the slaying] happening to you?" he questioned.

The neighbor returned to the Aleman household and called paramedics after checking the woman's pulse and seeing she was dead, Aleman-Gomes testified.

Van de Kamp suggested through questioning that Aleman-Gomes' horse racing associates wanted to cause him harm over debt. Aleman-Gomes was known to carry around $1,000 to $3,000 in cash and also stored cash in his home, which made him an easy target, Van de Kamp insinuated. No possessions were reported stolen from the Aleman household following the woman's murder, according to testimony.

But Aleman-Gomes presented a characterization of his wife that could explain why a burglary wasn't completed: She may have confronted a suspect trying to invade her home.

"If someone wanted to fight with her, she would not be afraid. She would go ahead and fight," he said.

He testified that the family hadn't completed life insurance policies at the time his wife died and that he didn't believe he had enemies out to harm him or family.

Aleman-Gomes allegedly said following his wife's slaying that he "hoped" the woman's death wasn't tied to horse racing, Van de Kamp said during questioning, but Aleman-Gomes testified that he said no such thing and said he didn't believe the slaying was connected to horse races.

He called his wife "very smart" and "quite a happy person." He is now raising the couple's three children, ages 10, 9 and 5.

The case continues Thursday before Kouris.

mrogers@sltrib.com

Twitter: @mrogers_trib