Posted on 06/29/2004 4:35:21 PM PDT by aculeus
ORANGE, Va. (AP) - A hospice nurse was acquitted Tuesday of charges that she fatally poisoned her husband so she could inherit his $15 million fortune. Judge Daniel R. Bouton ruled that prosecutors failed to prove their case that Donna Somerville, 51, adminstered a lethal drug overdose to Hamilton Somerville at their sprawling Virginia estate in 2001.
"Mrs. Somerville is acquitted, but Mrs. Somerville will also have to live with what happened," prosecutor Randy Krantz said outside court.
The judge heard the case without a jury because the defense feared a jury - even one brought in from another county - would be influenced by extensive news coverage of the drama.
Somerville and her lawyers left without talking to reporters.
Hamilton Somerville's three daughters from a previous marriage embraced and wept after the verdict was announced.
"The judge did what he thought was right," Alita Miller said. "We all have to abide by that. I have to try to find some peace with this."
The couple met in 1990 when Hamilton Somerville, a rancher, hired her to take care of his cancer-stricken wife. They got married less than a year after the wife died - Donna Somerville's fourth marriage.
Prosecutors portrayed her as a gold digger who seduced Hamilton Somerville into a quickie marriage and eventually grew tired of him, having affairs with several men. The couple's holdings include their 345-acre Mount Athos estate, once owned by James Madison's family.
"Donna Somerville was opportunistic, she was selfish, she saw the opportunity and she went for it," Krantz said in his closing arguments.
Prosecutors contended that Somerville's work as a volunteer hospice nurse gave her access to the drugs that killed Hamilton Somerville. However, there was no testimony that she ever possessed the drugs or that any of her patients were missing medication.
The defense contended Hamilton Somerville died of a heart attack or took the lethal dosage of drugs on his own. In closing arguments, Somerville's lawyer said the evidence "cries out for an acquittal."
Prosecutor Mark Robinette said poisoning murders are the toughest type of circumstantial evidence cases to prove.
"We put on everything we had. It just wasn't quite enough," he said.
AP-ES-06-29-04 1835EDT
she'll get hers. Jesus doesn't need lawyers, he has lightning .
The law ought always err on the side of caution.
15 Mill ought to help......
Sounds like Donna Somerville is the equal of any US Senator.
I guess if you kill a WEALTHY husband, you have more than enough cash to grease the necessary palms.
No offense; but if you are old, rich or sick; don't marry a nurse.
Yoooo(buzz. Barely heard typing. ) ha..ave got th-a-t (inaudible) ri-i-i-ght sis-TER! M-A-N...Ha-ave I...learn-ed..my Less-on!
Somerville faces $15M wrongful-death suit
By Maria Pace
Review Staff Writer
While awaiting trial for the alleged murder of her husband, Donna Somerville now faces a $15 million wrongful-death lawsuit filed on behalf of her husband's attorney.
On Valentine's Day, 2002, Donna Somerville was charged with the first-degree murder of her husband Hamilton Somerville. The case veered into civil territory last week when attorneys for Frank A. Thomas III, who was Hamilton Somerville's personal representative, filed suit against Donna Somerville for $15 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages, plus interest. Thomas is listed in court records as the administrator of Somerville's estate.
The lawsuit was filed two years to the day of Somerville's death - within the state's two-year statute of limitations on filing wrongful-death suits. The suit was filed by Wharton, Aldhizer & Weaver, a Harrisonburg law firm.
Thomas alleges in the suit that the widow was instrumental in her husband's death and that she should be blocked from receiving any benefits "as a result of her negligent and intentional acts that caused his death," according to the suit.
The suit also mentions the late Somerville's three biological daughters, Sara Stuart Somerville, Alita Howard Miller, and Virginia Carol Somerville, along with Johanna Claire Scott Ecochard - Donna Somerville's biological daughter, who Hamilton Somerville had legally adopted. According to Thomas' suit, all four daughters "have suffered severe and substantial damages." Thomas seeks punitive damages from Somerville "for her willful, wanton, intentional and malicious acts which caused his death," according to the suit.
In a related case, Hamilton Somerville's biological daughters in a chancery filing are asking for a declaratory judgment against Donna Somerville, which would prevent her from receiving any portion of the estate.
Thomas seeks a jury trial. The civil case would not likely begin until the outcome of Somerville's pending murder trial, which is scheduled to start Jan. 27.
Somerville was found dead in his bed on Nov. 13, 2001. Officials initially attributed his death to choking. His wife ordered Somerville's body to be cremated. A last-minute autopsy requested by one of Hamilton Somerville's biological daughters revealed lethal doses of codeine and morphine in his stomach. As a registered nurse, Donna Somerville had access to narcotics through her hospice work, according to court records in the case.
Thomas' civil suit states that some of the drugs that were allegedly administered to Somerville "had not been prescribed for his use by a licensed physician."
Donna Somerville is free on bond, pending trial.
I hope the daughters also sue her.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.