Ex-Guard Gets 16 to Life in Slaying

Every day, 84-year-old Helena Scott is haunted by images of her slain daughter and gripped with a mixture of anger and grief reflected in her tear-swollen eyes.

“My only child is dead,” the Camarillo widow said Wednesday, unleashing her emotions on her daughter’s convicted murderer. “No words truly express my pain and loss.”

Scott, a petite woman with chin-length silver hair, was the sole relative to speak at the sentencing hearing Wednesday for Charles Michael Smith, who was ordered to serve 16 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing Pamela Scott-Ostrem.

Smith, 44, apologized during the hearing and told Scott he feels “heartbreaking grief” for killing her 40-year-old daughter during a drunken argument in late December.

“I have taken a precious life,” Smith confessed in a shaky voice. “Dear Mrs. Scott, I beg you, don’t waste any anger on me.”

A security guard with a spotty criminal past, Smith was found guilty of second-degree murder on June 6 after a five-day trial in Ventura County Superior Court.

The defense had sought a lesser charge of manslaughter, arguing that Smith had been provoked by Scott-Ostrem during a heated argument at the couple’s Camarillo apartment.

But the jury rejected that theory and returned a murder conviction just hours after Smith had taken the stand to describe the couple’s last night together.

He confessed he was drunk and angry after arguing with Scott-Ostrem about her relationship with a former boyfriend. He said he went to the kitchen, grabbed an 11-inch knife and stabbed her in the thigh and chest. He then turned the knife on himself and called 911.

The couple had been living together for about six months when the Dec. 20 fight broke out. A former respiratory therapist, Scott-Ostrem had been living on disability checks since sustaining a brain injury in a 1992 car accident.

A month before her death, a public guardian had been appointed to oversee her personal affairs because the disability left her with a diminished mental capacity.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Scott criticized law enforcement, the courts and the public guardian for failing to protect her daughter, who according to court testimony had previously reported domestic disputes involving Smith.

“I trusted that the public guardian would meet its duty,” said Scott, who recently filed a wrongful death claim against the county. “This county’s public safety agencies knew of his danger. They knew of her disability.”

Scott also blasted court personnel for sending her home after closing arguments in the murder case and then announcing a late-afternoon verdict while she wasn’t present. Superior Court Judge Ronald Purnell apologized during Wednesday’s hearing for the mix-up.

Scott reserved most of her anger for Smith, however, who sat hunched over the defense table in a blue jail uniform as the mother read from a prepared statement.

“Mr. Smith not only stabbed Pam repeatedly but wounded me deeply and beyond repair,” she said. “I don’t want him free, even after I am gone. There is no undoing this murder.”

Smith received 15 years to life in prison for the murder and one year for using a knife during the crime. He must serve 16 years before he can be eligible for parole.

After the sentencing hearing, Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Simon said he doubts Smith will ever be released from state prison, given the seriousness of the crime.

“I think he will be in prison for the rest of his life,” Simon said.