Judge Denies Request for New Trial in Murder Case

An Irvine woman convicted of killing her boyfriend was denied a new trial Monday and a judge set a sentencing date for Aug. 18.

In January, a jury found Judy Valot, 42, guilty of second-degree murder in the slaying of Peter Theriault, her live-in boyfriend, who disappeared in December 1998.

Since Theriault’s body was never found, the prosecution based its case on seven droplets of blood found in the couple’s Irvine home. Prosecutors said the drops matched Theriault’s DNA.

During Monday’s hearing, Valot interrupted the judge several times.

“And this is a fair trial in Orange County?” she asked. “How can you have a fair trial if everyone’s lying?”

In April, Orange County Superior Court Judge Frank F. Fasel appointed a second public defender to review her case and determine whether she had adequate counsel.

That attorney, Dean Allen, submitted a motion for a new trial, citing the removal of a juror from the original panel. The first jury deliberated for two days, but the second jury, with the alternate, came back with a verdict in an hour and six minutes.

“There’s a thin line between refusing to deliberate and not being convinced by the evidence,” Allen said of the juror’s dismissal. “And I think the latter is what happened here.”

But the judge said he was confident that he made the right decision in removing the juror.

“This lady was going bonkers,” Fasel said, adding that a male juror had felt threatened by the woman and removed pencils from the table to prevent her from using them as a weapon.

“If there is a poster lady for removing a juror, I think that lady is,” Fasel said.

The sentencing hearing is to begin at 9 a.m. Aug. 18 in Superior Court in Santa Ana. Valot faces 15 years to life in prison.

Allen said he will likely appeal.