Husband Pleads Not Guilty to Strangling Wife, Setting Fire to Cover Her Death

Despite a possible confession to police, Joseph Guerrero Thursday plead not guilty to killing wife Bianca Vite and then setting the home where they were living on fire to cover up her death.

Guerrero appeared in court in person after being transported from Dodge Correctional Institute in Waupan to enter his plea with Defense Attorney Adrienne Moore. . 

Racine County District Attorney Rich Chiapete appeared for the state.

According to Mount Pleasant police investigators, Guerrero admitted to officers that he and Vite were living in a home in the 5500 block of 16th Street in Mount Pleasant when they got into an argument on Dec. 22. During the fight, she scratched Guerrero so he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into a wall.

Guerrero told investigators he tried to revive his wife but when he realized she was dead, he placed her body in a chair in the living room. He was so distraught that he poured gasoline on the carpet and around the couch where he was sitting and tried to set a fire to kill himself, according to the criminal complaint. When the fire caught and started to spread, Guerrero said he panicked and fled the scene.

The South Shore Fire Department responded shortly after midnight Christmas Day to calls for a fire at the home on 16th Street. Once firefighters had the flames under control, they found Vite's body. She was named as a homicide victim on Dec. 26

After police discovered that Guerrero and Vite were married in July 2012, they went to question him but were unable to find him. A probation and parole warrant was issued for his arrest, and Kenosha police took him into custody on Dec. 26.

If convicted, Guerrero faces life in prison on the murder charge and up to 52-1/2 years in jail and up to $125,000 in fines on the arson and mutilation charges.

His next court date is a pre-trial conference on June 14.