GUILTY OK - Teen wife charged as Tulsa man plunges 17 stories to death

[Nova]

Yep. If it was a man alleged to have pushed his wife out of the window, I don't think we'd see posts suggesting that charges are too much. Would we?

jenny, NOBODY protested that the charges are too much!

A few of us were trying to understand why the charge was raised from 2nd degree to 1st degree murder. That's all. Because defenestration during a shoving match sounds more like "extreme disregard for human life" than "premeditation."

Some of us are interested in the letter of the law and/or are curious as to what the increased charge says about the prosecutor's theory of the crime.

 

[Jacobi]

Maybe it's just a prosecutorial tactic for plea bargaining. Overcharge her to get her to plea down to 2nd degree murder and save having to go to trial?

 

[wfgodot]

Here's a look at Amanda Hilberling's defense attorney/spokesperson so far, Jasen R. Corns.

 

[Nova]

Side Note: Just to show I've learned my lesson the hard way, I checked out the story of the lawyer who fell to his death while "proving" the strength of the windows.

Snopes says it's true...

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/window.asp

 

[Nova]

Maybe it's just a prosecutorial tactic for plea bargaining. Overcharge her to get her to plea down to 2nd degree murder and save having to go to trial?

Absolutely possible!

 

[jjenny]

jenny, NOBODY protested that the charges are too much!

A few of us were trying to understand why the charge was raised from 2nd degree to 1st degree murder. That's all. Because defenestration during a shoving match sounds more like "extreme disregard for human life" than "premeditation."

Some of us are interested in the letter of the law and/or are curious as to what the increased charge says about the prosecutor's theory of the crime.

That's a quote from your post "It does seem she has been overcharged."
By the way according to daily mail article she has made some statements at the scene. Assuming that is correct, maybe that is the reason for the updated charges.

 

[Filly]

Side Note: Just to show I've learned my lesson the hard way, I checked out the story of the lawyer who fell to his death while "proving" the strength of the windows.

Snopes says it's true...

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/window.asp

Yikes. Can you imagine?

 

[Filly]

a British tabloid take on matters:

Pregnant newlywed woman 'pushed her Air Force husband to death from 17th floor window' (Daily Mail)

more at Daily Mail link above

The Daily Mail's a classic.

 

[Nova]

That's a quote from your post "It does seem she has been overcharged."
By the way according to daily mail article she has made some statements at the scene. Assuming that is correct, maybe that is the reason for the updated charges.

In the context of that post, "overcharged" has a legal meaning: to charge a defendant with a crime greater than her actions warrant per the letter of the law.

I've expressed no opinion as to what would be a "fair" or "moral" disposition of the case. I don't know enough to have an opinion. But honestly, it never crossed my mind that the defendant should be given a lesser charge because she is a woman.

I do agree with you that the eventual charge in this case should not be based on the genders of perp and victim. And I won't be at all surprised if you are right that the woman said something that talked herself into a 1st degree murder charge. I just can't figure out what it could have been.

Time will tell...

 

[Nova]

Yikes. Can you imagine?

I've worked in a lot of law firms in high-rise buildings in NYC and LA that have floor-to-ceiling windows on the upper floors. Somebody ALWAYS tells that story.

Particularly in LA--where it's common knowledge that earthquakes will shatter those windows--I've had to arrange employee seating based on who will sit near the windows and who will not. LOL.

 

[wfgodot]

Prosecutors reviewing fatal fall case, potential charges for wife (Tulsa World)

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Special Judge Dawn Moody, who reviewed some law enforcement reports and determined that a $250,000 bond was appropriate, has said that [Amber] Hilberling's pregnancy was no consideration in her bond decision.

Moody said previously that when she set the bond amount, she was unaware that Hilberling was pregnant. Hilberling is set for a June 28 arraignment, if a charge is filed by then.
---

more at Tulsa World link above

 

[wfgodot]

TULSA, Oklahoma -- A Tulsa woman arrested after her husband plunged to his death from a Tulsa high-rise apartment building earlier this month was charged with his murder Monday.
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According to court records filed in Tulsa County Monday, Amber Hilberling is charged with second degree murder.

Tulsa Woman Charged In Husband's High-Rise Death (newson6.com)

 

[oh_gal]

So sad.
Sad, too, that in our society she probably felt that she'd garner so much sympathy, being a little-itty-bitty thing, and pregnant, TOO!! Married to a big brute of a mean man!

I have less than zero sympathy for this girl.

She needs to take a few classes in maturity. Especially before that baby comes.

 

[CuriousHousewife]

I always wonder why people marry abusers after they've shown their violent side. She did something similar when they were engaged? And the appropriate response seemed to be to marry her? I never blame the victim, but I do wonder why they get themselves in even deeper (men AND women) with people who have already abused them.

 

[wfgodot]

Interesting (though not surprising) that, while the booking document indicated charges would be first degree murder, the charge filed now is second degree.

 

[fran]

I believe they have a much better chance of getting a conviction of 2nd degree rather than 1st. The way it happened, it happened during an argument. It's kind of hard, IMHO, to convince a jury that the action was premeditated under that type of circumstance.

JMHO
fran

 

[Trvl4Lyfe]

I agree 2nd degree is easier to convict than 1st in this case. Just hope the sentence is fitting to the end result.

 

[wfgodot]

Alleged Threats Made Against Amber Hilberling Parties (Fox23)

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Hilberling was originally scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday morning but was instead arraigned late Monday because of alleged threats. The court would not elaborate except to say certain threats had been made on the internet against certain people involved in the case.

It was serious enough for them to bring Hilberling in early. She pled not guilty and was allowed to stay free on bond.
---

more at link above

 

[wfgodot]

Hearing postponed for woman accused of pushing husband out window of high-rise

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Tulsa County prosecutors charged Amber Hilberling with second-degree murder, linked to an accusation that she pushed her husband “causing him to fall through a window and fall to his death.”

Prosecutors also filed an alternative charge of first-degree manslaughter, involving an allegation that the death occurred while she was committing a misdemeanor domestic assault and battery.
---

more, with picture of Amanda Hilberling, at link above.

 

[wfgodot]

Attorneys for Amber Hilberling filed a last-minute motion to suppress evidence in a case that has become somewhat of a media frenzy.
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At the hearing, the defense filed a motion to suppress evidence--an audiotape, recorded at the Tulsa Police Department after the incident. The defense says that person didn't know they were being recorded, which is against the law. "You can't do that," says Hilberling's attorney, Mark Collier. "You can certainly tape record conversations, but one party of the conversation needs to be aware and consent to that."
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more here:

19-year-old accused of pushing husband out of window appears in court (kjrh.com)