Yorba Linda Woman Charged With Attempted Murder

A 47 year old Orange County CA woman faces possible life in prison if convicted on the charges of attempted murder and domestic battery with corporal injury with sentencing enhancements for causing great bodily injury and the personal use of a deadly weapon. The Yorba Linda woman is being accused of hiding in the back seat of her ex-boyfriends Mercedes Benz while he attended a meeting at a church and then once he arrived back to his car, stabbing him repeatedly with an ice pick.

The definition of attempted murder involves intentionally and deliberately acting to commit murder of another individual. Attempted murder requires proacively taking steps towards committing the act of murder. The prosecution must show that the accused intended and attempted to commit the crime. Another factor looked at in attempted murder cases is where, on the body, the injury is located. Injuries deliberately delivered to the upper body are more serious than injuries to the lower part of the body, due to the fact that vital organs are located in the upper part of the body. Also taken into consideration, is if a gun is used, how many shots were fired. If only one shot is fired as opposed to several, the defense has an excellent argument that the charge should be assault rather than attempted murder.

A good Orange County Criminal Defense Attorney, speciliazing in murder and attempted murder, needs to be familiar with many areas such as DNA, gunshot resudue, balistics, fingerprint analysis and wound pathology. A good murder defense attorney will know what weaknesses to look for in each of these areas. Pointing out only one discrepency can make the difference between guilty and innocent. Further, there are emotional defenses that must be considered. A good criminal defense attorney in Orange County will be familiar with the mental or emotional disturbance defense as well as others, and know the proper exoert witnesses to bring to the defense team.

The charge of attempted murder can often be dropped to assault if the criminal defense attorney is familiar wtih the specifics of the law as it relates to each of the crimes. Assault with a deadly weapon carries anywhere from 2 to 9 years, depending upon the circumstances whereas, attempted murder can carry 25 years to life, or 50 years to life, depending on the circumstance. The biggest issue with these types of cases is whether or not the prosecution can prove intent to kill, if not, then the charge is assault with a deadly weapon.


If you would like to know more about Murder, Attempted Murder or Assault with a Deadly Weason, please contact Orange County Criminal Defense Attorney William M. Weinberg at his Irvine, CA office at 949-474-8008. He can also be reached at bill@williamweinberg.com.