Facing 30 Years in Prison

Our client was facing the potential of 30 years in Prison if she was found guilty. The State had accused her of stabbing her husband of more than 20 years three times with a knife that had a ten inch blade. He was in fact stabbed twice in the chest and once in the web of his hand. The issue before the Jury was did our client stab her husband or did the husband stab himself.

The Facts of the Case

When the stabbing took place, EMT personnel were called to the scene because our client was unable to stop the bleeding from the wound to her husband’s hand. While the EMT’s were on the scene, our client and her husband told the medical personnel that the husband had stabbed himself. While the EMT’s were on the scene our client had texted her husband’s son in New Jersey to inform him about the injuries to his father. The texts, done in haste, and at the mercy of the autocorrect feature of her texting app, left the impression that she was the one who had stabbed her husband. Those incriminating texts were reported to the local Investigating Police Agency who in turn charged her with her husband’s stabbing. She was charged by the State Attorney’s Office of the 7th Judicial Circuit with Aggravated Battery, Great Bodily Harm/Domestic Violence which is a First Degree Felony, punishable by up to 30 years in prison. At the time that we met our client she was being held in the Volusia County Jail with no bond.

Our Attorneys Investigate

After diligent investigation and preparation for trial, our Attorneys discovered several key factors that bolstered our defense. First, it was discovered that the husband had changed his “on the scene” claim that he had stabbed himself, to pointing the finger of blame for the stabbing at his wife. This 180 degree change in testimony happened after the State had met with him privately and convinced him that for her to get help (which he thought she needed) she would have to be convicted. Thus, after meeting with the Attorney for the State, he decided to completely change his story implicating our client as the stabber.

Our second key factor happened when we discovered that the husband had repeated the on the scene version of the story (I stabbed myself) at the hospital when EMT personnel took him there for his wounds to be treated. Body cam footage from one of the investigating officers showed the husband not only repeating the “I stabbed myself” version at the hospital, but raising his right hand to swear to the truth of that statement to the officer.

The Trial

At trial the husband raised his right hand and took the oath, just like he did in the hospital. He then repeated his post State Attorney meeting version swearing under oath that she stabbed him. Mr. Delgado’s “death by a thousand cuts” cross-examination left the husband with zero credibility in front of the jury. Which raised right hand taking the oath version was the truth? The cross examination was so devastating to the State’s case; we strategically chose not to call our client to the stand. We believed we had created the reasonable doubt necessary to find our client NOT GUILTY.

The Verdict

When the verdict of NOT GUILTY was read aloud, our client broke into tears and hugs of gratitude. The potential of a 30 year prison sentence had been removed from her life with those two simple words; NOT GUILTY. We live to hear those words in the defense of our clients.