SAN DIEGO : Abuse Claimed in Crossbow Case

The defense attorney for a man accused of shooting his former lover in the head with a crossbow called a domestic-violence expert to the stand Monday in an attempt to show that the accused man was the victim of continued abuse.

Besides claiming that the crossbow shooting of his former lover was an accident that followed a sexual assault, Jesse Solis’ defense now maintains that he was the victim of abuse in the couple’s stormy 15-month relationship.

Solis, 24, is charged with attempted murder stemming from the June 8 crossbow shooting of Arthur Ekvall, 29. Although the arrow entered Ekvall’s head at the base of the skull, it amazingly missed all vital portions of his brain and eyes.

Solis’ attorney, Art Herrera, called a domestic violence counselor to the witness stand Monday to explain battered women’s syndrome, in which a woman stays with the husband or lover who abuses her. Cynthia Bernee said the condition is also found in men and could be found in relationships between two men or two women.

However, under cross-examination from Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Hammes, Bernee admitted that she had no particular knowledge of the Solis-Ekvall relationship, and the shooting victim could just as well have suffered from the syndrome.

Robert Hixon, a friend of Solis, testified immediately after Bernee and said that he had seen Ekvall physically attack Solis on more than one occasion.

Attorneys for both sides are expected to deliver closing arguments today.