TV comedy writer charged in wife’s slaying

NOBLESVILLE, Ind.–A television comedy writer and producer was arrested and charged Thursday with murder in the death of his wife, whose decomposing body was found in their home.\nJohn James “J.J.” Paulsen , 47, was served with the warrant at the Hamilton County Jail, where he had been held since the discovery of his wife’s body, said Carmel Police Department spokesman Lt. Jeff Horner.\nThe body of Leanne Serrano-Paulsen, 39, was found April 18 in the couple’s upscale home in Carmel north of Indianapolis.\nWhen officers entered the home, they found the couple’s 16-month-old son, Christopher, alone in a crib, crying but unharmed. J.J. Paulsen, who was found walking along a street about three miles away, was arrested on charges of child abandonment and violation of probation.\nAn autopsy showed that Serrano-Paulsen had been beaten to death, and that she had been dead for at least a week before her body was discovered.\nJ.J. Paulsen, who was a writer and producer for “Cosby” and “In Living Color” and other television shows, pleaded guilty in January to domestic battery. Police said Serrano-Paulsen called police twice last year after she was beaten by her husband.\nShe was Carmel High School’s homecoming queen in 1985 and an IU graduate. Serrano-Paulsen had pursued her dreams of acting and singing before marrying J.J. Paulsen, appearing in local productions and in a national tour of “Jesus Christ Superstar.”\nHamilton County records show that months before Serrano-Paulsen’s death, the Paulsens were named in a series of lawsuits filed by creditors who won judgments seeking nearly $700,000 in debts.\nOne mortgage claim, for nearly $620,000, prompted foreclosure proceedings on the home.