Man pleads not guilty to killing, cooking wife

VISTA, California (AP) - A 68-year-old man in the United States has pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife after police found her severed head in a freezer and her body parts cooking on the stove at their Oceanside home.

Frederick Hengl looked frail as he entered his plea on Wednesday and his lawyer has requested he receive medical attention.

Police said they responded to neighbours' complaints about a foul odour coming from the couple's two-bedroom, bungalow-style house last Friday morning. The first officer entered the home through a window and saw three pans of meat cooking on the stove that turned out to be parts of the victim, 73-year-old Anna Faris.

It is believed Mrs Faris was killed sometime in November. Authorities have not yet determined how she died.