VENTURA : Woman to Face Trial in Fiance’s Stabbing

A Ventura woman accused of stabbing her ex-fiance 22 times as he was moving her out of his house was ordered Thursday to stand trial on an attempted murder charge. But the judge dismissed an allegation that the attack was premeditated.

Jeannette Smith, 32, is scheduled to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on Nov. 10 to set a trial date. She remains in custody on $250,000 bail.

At a preliminary hearing that lasted more than a day, Ventura veterinarian Jeffrey K. Saur testified that he and Smith were driving when she suddenly kissed him, blocking his view of the road. He then got out of the car, and Smith began stabbing him, Saur said.

After stabbing Saur once, Smith cut herself and then launched an attack on the 41-year-old veterinarian, stabbing him 21 more times before she was stopped by an amateur wrestler who happened by, according to testimony.

Deputy Public Defender Donna Forry asked Municipal Judge Vincent J. O’Neill to reduce the attempted murder charge to assault with a deadly weapon. Saying that Smith was suicidal at the time of the attack, Forry argued that her client wanted to win back Saur, not kill him.

“This was not a premeditated attack, but a reaction to this loss she was experiencing, the loss of her dreams,” Forry said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Maeve Fox said it is possible that Smith used her suicide threats as a way to manipulate those around her. There is no evidence, other than the defendant’s statements, that Smith was suicidal, Fox said.

“The only person that she tried to kill was Dr. Saur,” the prosecutor said.

Besides the attempted murder charge, O’Neill held Smith to answer to allegations that she inflicted great bodily injury on Saur, used a knife in the attack and battered the wrestler who stopped the stabbing.

Dropping the premeditation allegation reduces the potential sentence to 14 1/2 years from 25 years to life, Fox said.