Woman Guilty of Mercedes Manslaughter

A Newport Beach woman, described by prosecutors as irrational and meddlesome in dealing with family matters, was convicted Friday of vehicular manslaughter in the death of her stepdaughter’s husband, whom she ran down in her Mercedes-Benz.

A judge’s decision, which brought tears to the eyes of the victim’s widow, also found Betty Y. Davies, 60, guilty of felony hit and run in the Dec. 19, 1989, death of James Ward, 31, of Costa Mesa.

Davies could receive a maximum sentence of seven years in state prison on both felony counts and a $10,000 fine. She was released on her own recognizance pending a Nov. 22 sentencing hearing.

Davies’ first trial ended in March after jurors deadlocked 10 to 2 in favor of conviction. After both sides agreed to a non-jury trial, Superior Court Judge John J. Ryan said he would decide the case, based on evidence presented in the first trial and after listening to new closing arguments that ended Friday.

“I’m glad this has ended. I don’t think I’ve ever had a case this emotionally draining,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Lew Rosenblum.

Rosenblum, who escorted the victim’s widow, Wendy Ward, from the courtroom, said the stepdaughter told him she began crying “because she was gratified that this was finally all over.”

“I think she’s happy that the truth finally came out and that she was believed,” Rosenblum said.

In the first trial, Wendy Ward testified that her stepmother gunned the motor while James Ward stood in front of the car and then deliberately ran over him. She also testified that Davies failed to slow the car while her husband desperately tried to cling to the hood.

Davies had contended that James Ward climbed on the car hood and smashed the windshield with a portable telephone.

After the judge’s ruling, defense attorney Marshall Schulman said his client was “extremely disappointed.”

In court, Schulman attempted to present James Ward as the aggressor. Since there were no dents on the car grill, Schulman said, it was “physically impossible” for Ward to have died as the prosecution contended.

Schulman said he may seek a new trial but has not discussed it with his client.

Rosenblum had contended that Davies, who reportedly had been lurking outside the Wards’ Costa Mesa home on the night that James Ward was killed, became upset when he confronted her.

As the victim stood in front of Davies’ car and demanded to know why she was harassing him and his wife, prosecutors alleged, Davies drove the car into him. The impact reportedly threw Ward onto the hood, then into the windshield before he was flung to the ground.

Ward died three days later of head injuries.

Schulman said he decided on a non-jury trial in an attempt to restrict “prejudicial material” from being introduced concerning his client’s behavior and conduct toward Jim and Wendy Ward from 1986 until the victim died.

During this period, the prosecutor said that Davies spied and harassed the young couple as retribution stemming from a time when Wendy Ward befriended a girlfriend of Davies’ son, Jeff. Davies had testified that she vehemently disapproved of her son’s relationship with the girlfriend.

During the first trial, Davies also said she had a problem getting along with her stepdaughter, describing her as a “very aggressive, outspoken young lady.”

In court, Davies’ “uppity” manner may have gained the enmity of jurors, Rosenblum said.

While on the witness stand, Davies described Jim Ward, an employee of the Irvine Ranch Water District, as “rude, obnoxious and classless.”

At his wedding, Ward wore a tuxedo with his favorite red and white tennis shoes--an action which Davies described in testimony as “very rude.”

Davies also admitted that she had undergone psychiatric care after suggestions from others in her family that her feelings toward Wendy Ward were “not normal.”

Rosenblum had attempted to depict Davies as an irrational woman with mental problems. The evidence showed, Rosenblum said, that Davies was a woman who could no longer cope with reality.

“My contention is she revved up the car hoping (Ward) would get out of the way. But she panicked,” Rosenblum said.