Man Scared Woman to Death, Police Say - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Janice · 01-29-2009, 05:31 PM

http://news.aol.com/article/intruder-scares-woman-to-death/321774?icid=200100397x1217049907x120118032

Man Scared Woman to Death, Police Say

RALEIGH, N.C. (Jan. 29) -- Larry Whitfield was on foot, his getaway car wrecked, his rookie attempt at robbing a bank thwarted by a set of locked doors, according to detectives. Looking for a place to hide, police say, he found himself inside the home of a frightened old woman.

There's no evidence Whitfield ever touched 79-year-old Mary Parnell. Authorities say he even told the grandmother of five he didn't want to hurt her, directing her to sit in a chair in her bedroom. But investigators have no doubt he terrified her so much that she died of a heart attack.

Now Whitfield, a 20-year-old with no prior criminal record, is charged with first-degree murder, a rare defendant accused of literally scaring a person to death. "He could've avoided all this by turning himself in, and life would've went on for Mrs. Parnell," said Capt. Calvin Shaw of the Gaston County Police Department, which handled the investigation.

Under a legal concept known as the felony murder rule, it's not uncommon for prosecutors to bring a murder charge against a defendant who doesn't intentionally harm a victim. The rule exists in some form in every state and lets authorities bring murder charges whenever someone dies during a crime such as burglary, rape, or kidnapping.

"If you're committing any of those offenses and a person dies, that's first-degree murder," said Locke Bell, Gaston County's district attorney and the prosecutor in Whitfield's case.

Prosecutors typically use the rule to charge all of the suspects with murder when, say, one of them shoots a teller during a bank robbery. But cases of prosecutors using the felony murder rule to charge a defendant with scaring someone to death are isolated.

Jurors convicted Willie Ingram in 1982 after 64-year-old Melvin Cooper died from a heart attack in his New York home, caused by what medical experts said was the "emotional upset" of a robbery attempt. Likewise, a Pittsburgh jury convicted Mark Fisher last year in the 2003 murder of 89-year-old Freda Dale, who medical examiners said died in her home from a fear-induced heart attack.

Whitfield is being held without bail, and his attorney and his family declined to comment. He's charged with several other crimes in addition to murder, and has not entered a plea. He faces life without parole if convicted.

Authorities said Whitfield and an accomplice, armed with semiautomatic rifles, planned to rob the Fort Financial Credit Union in Gastonia. The bank's staff locked its security doors as the men approached, leaving them stuck outside. They fled but crashed on Interstate 85. Officials said the other man was caught shortly after the crash, while Whitfield ended up at Parnell's doorstep.

Parnell's husband came home from a funeral and found her around 4:30 p.m., slumped over in the chair. Whitfield, police say, had fled after Mary Parnell went into cardiac arrest and broke into another nearby home. He was arrested while walking in the neighborhood.

Parnell's autopsy report said she had an enlarged heart, was overweight and had advanced liver disease, kidney disease, hypertension, heart disease and was a diabetic, all of which were decided to be secondary factors. Dr. Steven Dunton, the deputy chief medical examiner in Dekalb County, Ga., said an autopsy finding of natural causes can be upgraded by what he calls an external environmental factor.

In Parnell's case, doctors listed her cause of death as a heart attack due to "stress during home invasion."

"There's nothing seen by the pathologist that would show a person died that way," Dunton said. "That's entirely from circumstantial information."

Legal experts said those circumstances will be crucial to winning a murder conviction. Prosecutors must show what Whitfield did inside Parnell's home caused her death, said Michael Tigar, a Duke University Law School professor.

"Jurors very often resent what they see as overcharging," Tigar said. "They resent lawyers who claim too much for their cases. In most cases, (lawyers have) stretched the analysis or theory in order to heighten punishment, and are often penalized by the jury because of it."

Parnell's family — four children, five grandchildren and her husband of 59 years, Herman — support the decision to seek a murder conviction, said the family attorney, H. Monroe Whitesides.

Whitfield, he said, "breaks into the house that she occupied with her husband for 59 years, and he kidnaps her and moves her to another room and she has a heart attack. And you think that this Whitfield character ... ought to be excused for that?"

Lee · 01-29-2009, 06:31 PM

I agree with the prosecutor in this case, if the person had turned himself
in and not run, he would not be looking at a murder charge. I think he
deserves life in prison but not the death penalty. I really believe he did
not intend for her to die.

Chocoholic · 01-29-2009, 07:38 PM

I think he should be charged with capital murder. He may not have physically harmed her but he caused the heart attack that killed her. He should pay for his crime.

Hollow · 01-29-2009, 07:50 PM

do these people see everything in black and white? first degree murder is supposed to be characterized by intent, malice, and premeditation of the killing.

Janice · 01-29-2009, 08:59 PM

^ That's what I thought, but apparently not.

http://criminal.findlaw.com/crimes/a...st_degree.html

catlover79 · 01-29-2009, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChesneyLady

I think he should be charged with capital murder. He may not have physically harmed her but he caused the heart attack that killed her. He should pay for his crime.

I agree.

Doodyville10019 · 01-31-2009, 07:57 PM

Okay, so now I have a question. Here's a hypothetical situation. If my boss at work yelled at me, belittled me and degraded me enough so that one day I just couldn't deal anymore and I died via a heart attack or suicide, can my boss be charged with murder? That's what this whole thing sounds like.

Chocoholic · 01-31-2009, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doodyville10019

Okay, so now I have a question. Here's a hypothetical situation. If my boss at work yelled at me, belittled me and degraded me enough so that one day I just couldn't deal anymore and I died via a heart attack or suicide, can my boss be charged with murder? That's what this whole thing sounds like.

I think there's a huge difference between belittling somebody and breaking into a stranger's house.

JamesG · 01-31-2009, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doodyville10019

Okay, so now I have a question. Here's a hypothetical situation. If my boss at work yelled at me, belittled me and degraded me enough so that one day I just couldn't deal anymore and I died via a heart attack or suicide, can my boss be charged with murder? That's what this whole thing sounds like.

That is not the issue here. The issue here is the felony murder rule.

The way that works is while a felony is being committed, in this case it was an attempt of a bank robbery, anybody who dies during that time all of the perps involved go down for murder.

So if you and I were to rob a bank and I decide to gun down the security guard, you go down for murder too. Even if one of the people in the bank gets scared and has a heart attack, we both go down for murder.

Since a felony was being committed and the elderly woman died due to the perps actions; it doesn't matter if it was direct or indirectly, they get a murder conviction.

The scenario you gave with your boss does not work here because there was no felony being done.

Janice · 01-31-2009, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesG

So if you and I were to rob a bank and I decide to gun down the security guard, you go down for murder too. Even if one of the people in the bank gets scared and has a heart attack, we both go down for murder.

Since a felony was being committed and the elderly woman died due to the perps actions; it doesn't matter if it was direct or indirectly, they get a murder conviction.

That's true, and the person driving the getaway car gets charged with murder as well.

Back in the 60s, my husband's uncle, a career criminal, was on the lam for a prison escape (nothing to do with murder). He met and moved in with a young woman and her two-year old son. He was actually behaving himself at that point. His girlfriend's soon-to-be-ex-husband was jealous and not ready to let go of her. He called the cops and told them that a criminal was living there.

The cops surrounded the house, and there was a shootout. The woman and her son were killed. Ballistics proved that it was the cop's bullets that killed the victims. No matter. Hubby's uncle was convicted of first-degree, double murder. He's still in prison today, in his early 70s. I've seen old newspaper clippings. The woman was so pretty and her son, so adorable. He'd be in his 40s today.

catlover79 · 02-01-2009, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janice

That's true, and the person driving the getaway car gets charged with murder as well.

Back in the 60s, my husband's uncle, a career criminal, was on the lam for a prison escape (nothing to do with murder). He met and moved in with a young woman and her two-year old son. He was actually behaving himself at that point. His girlfriend's soon-to-be-ex-husband was jealous and not ready to let go of her. He called the cops and told them that a criminal was living there.

The cops surrounded the house, and there was a shootout. The woman and her son were killed. Ballistics proved that it was the cop's bullets that killed the victims. No matter. Hubby's uncle was convicted of first-degree, double murder. He's still in prison today, in his early 70s. I've seen old newspaper clippings. The woman was so pretty and her son, so adorable. He'd be in his 40s today.

WOW...what a sad, awful story.

Janice · 02-01-2009, 01:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee

It sounds to me like this was completely unjustified. A man who could have
been out of prison in a few years will now most likely die in prison and two
innocent people were killed, essentially executed by the police. The police
officers who were responsible for this should have payed for what they did.

Why did they come to his with guns drawn anyway? Even though he had
been convicted of a felony, it was not a violent one. Why did they have to
start shooting? Why, Janice, why?

Quite honestly Lee, it's been so long since I've heard the story, so I'm sketchy on the details. His uncle was on the lam and was armed, so the cops were there to capture him, and he resisted. What happened is terrible, but it's an example that a person is charged with first degree murder when someone dies in the commission of a crime. It was very sad. I know his uncle found Jesus in prison (don't they all). He was annointed something. I saw pictures, and he was wearing a robe that looked like a monk would wear. The girl who died was only 22, and her son was two. Terribly sad story. This is my husband's mother's brother who is in prison.

Lee · 02-01-2009, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janice

Quite honestly Lee, it's been so long since I've heard the story, so I'm sketchy on the details. His uncle was on the lam and was armed, so the cops were there to capture him, and he resisted. What happened is terrible, but it's an example that a person is charged with first degree murder when someone dies in the commission of a crime. It was very sad. I know his uncle found Jesus in prison (don't they all). He was annointed something. I saw pictures, and he was wearing a robe that looked like a monk would wear. The girl who died was only 22, and her son was two. Terribly sad story. This is my husband's mother's brother who is in prison.

Sorry for posting what I originally posted, Janice. Guess I should have found
out more about it first before forming my own conclusion. I guess I just got
carried away with emotion because a young woman and her little son died.

Janice · 02-01-2009, 02:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee

Sorry for posting what I originally posted, Janice. Guess I should have found
out more about it first before forming my own conclusion. I guess I just got
carried away with emotion because a young woman and her little son died.

There was nothing wrong with your original post, Lee. It's an emotional story. Those bring out the emotion within us. It's fine.

JamesG · 02-01-2009, 04:55 AM

This felony murder law is still very controversial; some folks agree or disagree strongly about it.

I admit I am torn myself about it. Should a person go down for the actions committed by another person? I understand that yes you did take part in a felony and people died because of it but should you be judged strictly for what you personally were responsible for?

The UK made up this law but they have since let it go.

Another famous case with this was with that actor Lilo Brancato. He was robbing a house with another man and that man gunned down an off-duty cop.

According to the law Lilo should have been convicted of murder but the jury only held him responsible for burglary charges. The actual shooter got life without parole whereas Lilo got 10 years.

Of course, the mayor and NYPD were outraged as hell with the jury's verdict. It's one thing with what is on the books but in the end the jury are the ones that decide.

01-29-2009, 05:31 PM	#1
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	Man Scared Woman to Death, Police Say http://news.aol.com/article/intruder-scares-woman-to-death/321774?icid=200100397x1217049907x120118032 Man Scared Woman to Death, Police Say RALEIGH, N.C. (Jan. 29) -- Larry Whitfield was on foot, his getaway car wrecked, his rookie attempt at robbing a bank thwarted by a set of locked doors, according to detectives. Looking for a place to hide, police say, he found himself inside the home of a frightened old woman. There's no evidence Whitfield ever touched 79-year-old Mary Parnell. Authorities say he even told the grandmother of five he didn't want to hurt her, directing her to sit in a chair in her bedroom. But investigators have no doubt he terrified her so much that she died of a heart attack. Now Whitfield, a 20-year-old with no prior criminal record, is charged with first-degree murder, a rare defendant accused of literally scaring a person to death. "He could've avoided all this by turning himself in, and life would've went on for Mrs. Parnell," said Capt. Calvin Shaw of the Gaston County Police Department, which handled the investigation. Under a legal concept known as the felony murder rule, it's not uncommon for prosecutors to bring a murder charge against a defendant who doesn't intentionally harm a victim. The rule exists in some form in every state and lets authorities bring murder charges whenever someone dies during a crime such as burglary, rape, or kidnapping. "If you're committing any of those offenses and a person dies, that's first-degree murder," said Locke Bell, Gaston County's district attorney and the prosecutor in Whitfield's case. Prosecutors typically use the rule to charge all of the suspects with murder when, say, one of them shoots a teller during a bank robbery. But cases of prosecutors using the felony murder rule to charge a defendant with scaring someone to death are isolated. Jurors convicted Willie Ingram in 1982 after 64-year-old Melvin Cooper died from a heart attack in his New York home, caused by what medical experts said was the "emotional upset" of a robbery attempt. Likewise, a Pittsburgh jury convicted Mark Fisher last year in the 2003 murder of 89-year-old Freda Dale, who medical examiners said died in her home from a fear-induced heart attack. Whitfield is being held without bail, and his attorney and his family declined to comment. He's charged with several other crimes in addition to murder, and has not entered a plea. He faces life without parole if convicted. Authorities said Whitfield and an accomplice, armed with semiautomatic rifles, planned to rob the Fort Financial Credit Union in Gastonia. The bank's staff locked its security doors as the men approached, leaving them stuck outside. They fled but crashed on Interstate 85. Officials said the other man was caught shortly after the crash, while Whitfield ended up at Parnell's doorstep. Parnell's husband came home from a funeral and found her around 4:30 p.m., slumped over in the chair. Whitfield, police say, had fled after Mary Parnell went into cardiac arrest and broke into another nearby home. He was arrested while walking in the neighborhood. Parnell's autopsy report said she had an enlarged heart, was overweight and had advanced liver disease, kidney disease, hypertension, heart disease and was a diabetic, all of which were decided to be secondary factors. Dr. Steven Dunton, the deputy chief medical examiner in Dekalb County, Ga., said an autopsy finding of natural causes can be upgraded by what he calls an external environmental factor. In Parnell's case, doctors listed her cause of death as a heart attack due to "stress during home invasion." "There's nothing seen by the pathologist that would show a person died that way," Dunton said. "That's entirely from circumstantial information." Legal experts said those circumstances will be crucial to winning a murder conviction. Prosecutors must show what Whitfield did inside Parnell's home caused her death, said Michael Tigar, a Duke University Law School professor. "Jurors very often resent what they see as overcharging," Tigar said. "They resent lawyers who claim too much for their cases. In most cases, (lawyers have) stretched the analysis or theory in order to heighten punishment, and are often penalized by the jury because of it." Parnell's family — four children, five grandchildren and her husband of 59 years, Herman — support the decision to seek a murder conviction, said the family attorney, H. Monroe Whitesides. Whitfield, he said, "breaks into the house that she occupied with her husband for 59 years, and he kidnaps her and moves her to another room and she has a heart attack. And you think that this Whitfield character ... ought to be excused for that?"

01-31-2009, 07:57 PM	#7
Doodyville10019 Meet my new friend Sparkie! Forum Regular Join Date: Oct 08, 2008 Location: Competition Square, located in Doodyville Park Posts: 877	Okay, so now I have a question. Here's a hypothetical situation. If my boss at work yelled at me, belittled me and degraded me enough so that one day I just couldn't deal anymore and I died via a heart attack or suicide, can my boss be charged with murder? That's what this whole thing sounds like.
	__________________ Hi! Hey! Hello again, here we go again!

01-29-2009, 06:31 PM	#2
Lee veteran member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: May 23, 2001 Location: Pulaski, Tennessee Posts: 4,768	I agree with the prosecutor in this case, if the person had turned himself in and not run, he would not be looking at a murder charge. I think he deserves life in prison but not the death penalty. I really believe he did not intend for her to die.

01-29-2009, 07:38 PM	#3
Chocoholic Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 01, 2000 Location: Between a rock and a hard place. Posts: 11,235	I think he should be charged with capital murder. He may not have physically harmed her but he caused the heart attack that killed her. He should pay for his crime.

01-29-2009, 07:50 PM	#4
Hollow Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Dec 16, 2001 Posts: 30,406	do these people see everything in black and white? first degree murder is supposed to be characterized by intent, malice, and premeditation of the killing.

01-29-2009, 08:59 PM	#5
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	^ That's what I thought, but apparently not. http://criminal.findlaw.com/crimes/a...st_degree.html

02-01-2009, 04:55 AM	#15
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,168	This felony murder law is still very controversial; some folks agree or disagree strongly about it. I admit I am torn myself about it. Should a person go down for the actions committed by another person? I understand that yes you did take part in a felony and people died because of it but should you be judged strictly for what you personally were responsible for? The UK made up this law but they have since let it go. Another famous case with this was with that actor Lilo Brancato. He was robbing a house with another man and that man gunned down an off-duty cop. According to the law Lilo should have been convicted of murder but the jury only held him responsible for burglary charges. The actual shooter got life without parole whereas Lilo got 10 years. Of course, the mayor and NYPD were outraged as hell with the jury's verdict. It's one thing with what is on the books but in the end the jury are the ones that decide.