Man Convicted of Murder for Shooting Neighbor in Anger

A Stanton man was found guilty of second-degree murder Tuesday for killing his neighbor in anger when he fired his shotgun at the thin walls separating their apartments.

Spencer C. Heckathorne, 24, was convicted in the death of Robin Ann Holding, 27. She died at a Westminster hospital nine days after the Oct. 16 shooting.

The court clerk’s reading of the jury’s verdict was interrupted for an hour when Heckathorne’s mother, Barbara Schruder, collapsed in the courtroom after learning the jurors had voted for murder. She was taken to Westminster Community Hospital by paramedics for treatment and released. The jury reached its decision after less than a day of deliberation.

Quarrels Reported

Prosecution witnesses testified that the shotgun blast came just as Holding was about to pound on the wall to get an angry Heckathorne to quiet down. Several people in the room with Holding said they heard Heckathorne quarreling with his pregnant wife and feared he was beating her. Several of them yelled through the wall at Heckathorne not to hurt his wife. Deputy Dist. Atty. Jeoff Robinson said the blast came through the wall at the spot where Holding had pounded earlier.

Heckathorne claims that the shot was fired by accident while he was unloading the gun after having some drinks to celebrate his birthday. He and his wife both testified that they had not been fighting and did not hear their neighbors yelling through the wall.

Heckathorne’s attorney, Gary M. Pohlson, argued that the jurors should find him guilty of no more than involuntary manslaughter.

“He fired that gun by accident; he killed that poor girl, but it wasn’t any murder,” Pohlson said.

Prosecutor’s Viewpoint

But Robinson, in an interview with The Times before the trial, said Holding’s death was the result of an angry man trying to teach his neighbors a lesson.

“The projectiles from that shotgun were Double-O buckshot, which he knew was strong enough to penetrate that wall,” Robinson said.

Superior Court Judge Jean Rheinheimer set sentencing for Aug. 8. Heckathorne faces 15 years to life for the second-degree murder conviction.