Oxnard : Man Goes on Trial in Shooting of Wife

An Oxnard man, angry that his wife of 29 years attended a Baptist church instead of a Catholic church, shot the woman with a high-powered hunting rifle after an evening of drinking, a prosecutor said Tuesday in the first day of the attempted murder trial.

Juan Barrios Amaro, a 47-year-old farm worker, is accused of causing permanent injuries when he shot Beatriz Amaro early on the morning of March 8. He is charged with attempted first-degree murder.

The 45-year-old victim survived, but has lost the use of her right arm and testified at the Ventura County Superior Court trial with her jaw wired shut.

Beatriz Amaro, who was sworn in Tuesday with her left hand raised, said her husband had been beating her since her children were little, and that on one occasion he held a loaded gun to her chest and pulled back the hammer.

On March 8, Juan Barrios Amaro came home drunk and fired a 30.06 hunting rifle directly at his wife 4 to 6 feet away, Deputy Dist. Atty. Patrice D. Koenig said.

The gun jammed before the defendant could shoot her again, but a single bullet blew off the woman’s shoulder and pierced her jaw, Koenig said.

Deputy Public Defender John H. Voigtsberger said he would not dispute that his client shot his wife. He said he asked to plead guilty to attempted second-degree murder, but Koenig refused.

Amaro could receive life in prison if convicted of attempted first-degree murder. Judge Lawrence Storch is presiding over the two-week trial, which is being heard without a jury.