Man, 80, Gets Year in Jail for Attempt on Wife’s Life

An 80-year-old Ramona man who tried to suffocate his ailing wife was sentenced Friday to one year in jail by a judge who said a longer term would be a death sentence because of his age.

Walter Watson, dressed in blue jail clothes before San Diego County Superior Court Judge William Mudd, agreed to accept nine years’ probation with a stipulation that he have no contact with his wife.

Watson pleaded guilty Sept. 27, 1989, to attempted murder in the July 15, 1989, incident with Mary Watson, 79, who suffered from Parkinson’s disease and was confined to a wheelchair.

Several of her fingers were broken in the attack, and their son stopped Watson and called sheriff’s deputies.

Mudd suspended a seven-year state prison sentence, warning Watson he would impose the term if the defendant violated terms of his probation.

Watson, who has already served about six months in County Jail and in Chino State Prison for a diagnostic study, received credit for that time, which will be subtracted from the one-year term.

Chino prison officials had recommended that Watson be placed on probation, as did the probation department.

Mudd asked the elderly man if he wished to say anything to him before sentencing.

“No, I have nothing to say,” Watson said.

The attorneys submitted the case to Mudd without argument, but the judge noted it was “a unique case” because of the defendant’s age.

“I’m in a position I could sentence you to death today, in light of your age,” said Mudd, explaining that a long prison sentence would probably result in his dying in prison.

“I’m completely satisfied you remain a danger to your wife. . . . If you can’t leave your wife alone, your next appearance in court will be a one-way ticket to state prison,” Mudd said.

“You better not have any contact with your wife, unless she initiates it,” continued the judge.

At that point, Deputy Dist. Atty. Philip Walden suggested to Mudd that Watson may not be able to hear the judge, and noted that Watson wears hearing aids.

The judge inquired of Watson if he heard him, and Watson shot back: “I’ve heard you loud and clear.”

Mudd responded: “You’ve got a chip on your shoulder I don’t normally see, except in young men who want to go to prison.”

Albert Tamayo, Watson’s attorney, said afterwards that the couple, who have been married more than 40 years, are in the process of divorcing and had conflicts for many years over property.

The defense attorney said Watson had not faced any problems from other inmates while at Chino State Prison for three months because of an unwritten code not to bother elderly prisoners.