Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS : COURTS : Man Pleads Guilty to Lesser Charge in Wife’s Death
Jay Ward McFadden, 63, and his wife, Gladys, 61, had entered into a suicide pact. One night, they took the sleeping pills they had hoarded. But the next day, they awoke.
So they decided that he would shoot her and turn the gun on himself. But after the first shot, Jay McFadden dropped the gun.
Initially charged with murder, McFadden last week was allowed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of aiding and abetting in his wife’s death eight months ago.
“What a relief. What a relief,” his attorney, Carol E. Lavacot, said.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Jeoffrey Robinson said that under the law, the district attorney’s office had no recourse but to file murder charges against McFadden, who still suffers from the effects of a stroke last year.
“From a humanistic standpoint, everyone in the D.A.’s office felt a great deal of compassion for Mr. McFadden,” the prosecutor said.
McFadden must return to court on Sept. 29 for sentencing, but attorneys in the case said he probably would receive probation.
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