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June 28, 2011

Woman’s murder trial delayed — again

Mark Millican markmillican@daltoncitizen.com

A woman charged with murder in May of last year for allegedly shooting her ex-husband in the head while he slept has again had her trial continued in Whitfield County Superior Court, officials said.

Rita Lynn Spurgeon, 50, pleaded not guilty in December to shooting Audie Spurgeon, 55, at 335 Maple Grove Road near Plainview. She told investigators with the sheriff’s office an intruder entered their home and shot her ex-husband.

Spurgeon is expected to next appear at a calendar call for jury trial on Sept. 26. In February, Public Defender Mike McCarthy said a psychological evaluation of Spurgeon’s “mental state” at the time of the shooting had been conducted. But he told Judge Jack Partain his office had not received the report.

Last week, District Attorney Kermit McManus said McCarthy gave the prosecution a list of 34 witnesses less than a week before the June calendar call, and that 22 of the witnesses could be described as “professionals.”

“There was a thick folder that went with those witnesses,” McManus said. “It would be impossible for me to go through that list of witnesses and prepare for a trial in six days. So we went to (Partain) and talked to him about that and he understood. McCarthy apologized and said he was sorry it was so late, it took him awhile to put it together. That’s why it was continued ... I knew he was going to give me a witness list, but never dreamed it would have that many names.”

For his part, McCarthy said, “I didn’t receive a report from my medical expert until only last week, late Monday afternoon, and I turned it over as soon as I got it. But it didn’t give the state a whole lot of time, so we didn’t have any objection to a continuance.”

He described the information as “a lot of medical people and documentation.”

Evidence revealed by the prosecution in June of last year at a bond hearing showed that Audie Spurgeon was shot “four times in the back of the head,” said McManus. The two had been divorced since 2005 after having been married since the early 1980s, family members said at the time, but they were living together again when the shooting occurred.

Spurgeon was denied bond and remains in the Whitfield County jail.

In February, Audie Spurgeon’s sister said Rita Lynn Spurgeon “plotted” the death of her brother and that the delay in the case going to trial has been hard on the family. But despite the wait, Kay Farr said on Monday she’s glad the case is going to a jury.

“I don’t think she’s going to be able to fool anybody,” she said. “What she did was indefensible ... We were hoping to go ahead and get it over with but it doesn’t look like it’s going to work out that way. So we’ll just do what we have to do and we’re going to see it through. I’m glad it’s going to a jury trial. I don’t think she’s going to be able to fool people with that act of hers.”

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