Local News in Brief : Tustin : Manslaughter Verdict Reached in Strangling

A 45-year-old woman with a long history of alcoholism was found guilty Wednesday of voluntary manslaughter in the strangling of her foster mother last year.

Patricia Myra Larsen admitted to police that she had choked Madelyn Schade, 75, with a scarf and tried to smother her with a pillow the night of Oct. 22, 1987, to stop her constant criticism. Larsen had a blood alcohol level of .29 the night of Schade’s death.

An autopsy revealed that Schade had died of a heart attack brought on by the struggle with Larsen.

Larsen had lived on the East Coast but had moved into her foster mother’s Tustin apartment after Larsen’s marriage failed. Deputy Public Defender Carl C. Holmes, who represented Larsen, said she was diagnosed as a “disturbed woman” who was having a “psychotic episode” when she killed Schade.

The public defender also said Larsen had had an alcohol problem since age 10.

Superior Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno, who heard the non-jury trial, said he found Larsen guilty of manslaughter rather than second-degree murder because there was no malice in the case.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Anthony J. Rackauckas had sought a second-degree murder conviction, which is punishable by 15 years to life in prison. Larsen could be given as much as 11 years. Briseno set Sept. 30 for sentencing.