In an unbelievably tragic story, the widow of a slain runner in Texas has committed suicide. Patti Stevens, 54, a physical therapist, was found dead of suspected suicide at her home in Sunnyvale after her husband, Dave, was slain by Thomas Linze Johnson, 21, a mentally ill former Texas A&M football player. The case is likely to raise serious mental capacity questions for Johnson who is reportedly schizophrenic as well as questions of whether the impact on Stevens (and her suicide) should be considered in any sentencing.
Stevens, 53, often ran 10 miles around White Rock Lake before heading to his electrical engineering job at GE in Plano. He was hacked to death with a machete around 8 am. Johnson reportedly confessed to the killing. 
Patti’s suicide came just a week after the murder. She expressed her profound lost at the time: “Dave was the love of my life and I’m lost without him . . . People need to know that this was a wonderful person going out and doing what he loved to do.”
With the history of mental illness (and the gruesome character of the attack), Johnson has an obvious mental illness defense. However, assuming that he is found sufficiently sane, should the suicide be considered as an aggravator in the sentencing? After all, Patti would have normally given a victim’s statement on her loss. That loss proved too much for her to bear. The obvious nexus between the murder and her suicide would seem a legitimate ground for aggravating a sentence. The defense is likely to argue, however, that her independent action should not be attributed to him, at least in the form of a higher sentence.
What do you think?
Source: Dallas News
If the prosecutor can swing it, I am sure they will figure a way to use that suicide to their advantage,
Barkin, I stayed up to watch the game as well. As we discussed, I lived in KC for 7 years and was a huge Royals fan. A friend of mine sent me a photo wearing a “Straight Outta Kaufmann” t-shirt. Ewing Kaufmann was a great owner. The team foundered after his death. But, they are back!
I think the suicide can and will be a factor in assessing sentencing. My wife was a Federal Probation Officer and specialized in the Sentencing Guidelines. She did most of the presentence investigations for her office. The Feds tried to take as much of the subjectivity out of sentencing. It was well intended, but misguided. They tried to make sentencing more like a chemical formula where you would count the number of cannabis plants, count the guns and bullets, give a number to the accepting responsibility, etc.. It was a cluster coitus. Early in my career I was a juvenile probation officer. Part of the presentence investigation reports we did was to interview the victim and report on how the crime affected their lives. We would factor that into the sentencing. It doesn’t look like this couple had kids. The primary victim[s] would be the parents and siblings. If there was a strong bond w/ the inlaws, they should also be factored into the sentencing as well.
J:
Your comments are absurd. The situation to an extent parallels soldiers who were stable prior to war, who then come home mentally distressed to a suicidal breaking-point sometimes. Did society tell them to care too much about “another”? Ridiculous.
Losing a loved one can be traumatic to say the least. Especially when it’s murder.
The experience it certainly seems *influenced* her decision to suicide.
I mean really.
A Thought provoking article.
The Science Geek
http://www.thesciencegeek.org
Tough one. The law is designed around the incident and not the subsequent or preceding issues, in essence. In reality what a person does before committing a crime and the results of that crime factor into the event. This is where civil law can even things out in a case like OJ.
However, if there is a latitude for a judgement call in the proceedings it would be fitting, in my opinion, for this murderer to be denied the lean towards insanity and have his sentence augmented due to the effects of his crime. The law is the law but the victim is still a victim. Anyone who commits a murder is insane to some degree. At the very least the murderer, insane or not, should be locked up for the rest of his life with absolutely no chance of parole.
I dont like all the suicides….especially the banker and homeopathic ones that dont make sense. Does this one make sense??? Rare,…how many ppl are so weak they kill themselves cuz another is dead. Rare. This article would have us think it common…..then two birds with one stone.
An argument of collateral damage, the “suicide” could be made. But someone who is crazy enough to commit suicide could be too.
Then enter the crazy killer, Tom. Clever and cute like infamous BTK serial killer. What does the arguing argue? Everybody is crazy.
I am sorry who killed her?
She killed herself. She broke the law as certain as the first. But blame blame blame…..you want to blame someone? Why not blame the society who tells us we are nobody without another. She was her own person. She chose to die. She did it herself after her was gone. Her problem
….now if you want to argue tin foil hat mind control…..i’ll go down the mancharian hole. The fact is no one offed her but herself. We shoyld not sympathize and breed copy cats. Her life she took it…..not by duress or anything else. To say more is projection
I think it is reasonable if the state allows a victim impact statement to be read before sentencing. If you look at this in terms of damage caused, it is equitable to establish bona fide damages as aggravators, or the lack of as mitigations. The duress this defendant allegedly caused the suicide patient was to such a high degree she died.
The issue of having nexus is strongly supported by the actions alleged of the defendant, it is unlikely (most probably) that the patient would have killed herself had her husband not been murdered. I believe this should be an aggravator for any sentencing in the death of the husband, but I do not believe it can be criminally assigned to a manslaughter with the widow.
If we look at this from the perspective of an unrelated Felony Murder scenario, a defendant would be guilty if while say in the murder of the intended victim, the actions of the defendant caused a third party to die without the intent on the part of the slayer, it creates the possibility of a double-murder prosecution. Here I don’t believe such a charge of manslaughter would be prosecutable for the widow, it does show in my view that it could be seen as an unintended consequence but nevertheless a causation of the defendant’s alleged actions. That is why a sentencing enhancement is indicated.
But regardless, from looking at how a judge or jurors will take this information in, (in their minds as people) it will weigh very heavily on persuading to hand down a very punitive punishment, even in a situation absent any instruction to do so.
Another thought…..why was the defendant out on a jogging trail before sunrise with a machete? I suspect what really happened was “a robbery gone bad.” If that is his booking photo, above, notice that his pupils are the size of pinholes. I think he accosted the jogger to get money for drugs and exploded in rage when he discovered that the victim wasn’t carrying a wallet.
What Nick said. Separately, I hope Johnson is sentenced to wear a cinderblock suit and then gently placed atop an ocean.
I don’t believe this defendant will be able to mount a successful insanity defense. He told the police that he was “angry about his living situation” so he took out his rage on a stranger. Last year he was arrested for breaking into his aunt’s home and stealing money and her minivan. His mother told a reporter in April of 2014 that he was working on making a comeback in football, but according to news reports his football career wasn’t working out and he had been evicted. So he was out of a home and out of football and killed a random jogger in anger. Then he borrowed a cellphone from a passerby. and called 911 and said he “just committed capital murder.” He clearly knew what he was doing and that it was a violation of the law. So regardless of mental or emotional problems, he won’t meet the legal definition of insanity. Is the wife’s suicide foreseeable? Probably not. But he’s most likely getting the death penalty in Texas regardless. He certainly left a trail of wrecked lives.
This dog stays tuned into the blog because JT is the real deal as Nick said. But the commentors are good as well. We may argue too much but the argument tweaks the issues. And I need another commenter to tell me how to spull commentor. And to spull a lot of things which I mispull. It is late at night and I just finished watching the KC vs. Mets game. I am happy. My half blind guy for whom I am guide dog is from Kansas City. But he wont say if it was MO or KS. That town has an overlap.
Joe, JT is the real deal. Not an ounce of pretense or phony in him. That’s why many of us are here.
Mr. Turley: Your blog is the only source wherein I learn about gruesome and really sad stories. You write with a sense of sympathy and humanity, without being contrived, making the otherwise intolerable tolerable.
Thank you.
There is victim impact to consider. The wife of the dead victim is also a victim. The impact on her is aggravating. But if the killer gets the death penalty then the only thing which could factor in is how he is executed (killed) and the aggravating factor should cause the jury or judge to order him executed with a machete.
Oh, heck yeah, I’d increase sentence based on this.
According to comedian Ron White, Texas has Express Lanes to the injection chamber. I’ll gladly pay this fella’s toll.
It should be considered as one of the most poignant witness statements.
As to the defend at’ mental illness defense. I am beginning to be rather concerned about the desire to find a “mental illness” to explain cruel and brutal actions. I know it makes the rest of us feel better but I rarely think they are true.