Man Convicted of Killing Girlfriend

A Ventura County jury on Wednesday convicted a 43-year-old Camarillo man of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his girlfriend, rejecting defense arguments that he was provoked by the victim after she taunted him with tales of infidelity.

Deputy Public Defender William Rutan had asked jurors to return a manslaughter verdict against Charles Michael Smith because the fatal attack against Pamela Scott-Ostrem, 40, occurred during the heat of passion.

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Simon scoffed at the argument, calling Smith a brutal killer.

“This was an intentional killing with malice aforethought,” Simon said. “That malice aforethought meaning he intended to kill her, by his own admission.”

After three hours of deliberation, jurors opted for the harsher murder verdict, which could bring Smith up to 15 years in prison.

The verdicts came just hours after Smith took the stand to describe the couple’s relationship and their volatile last night together. He confessed that he was drunk and in a jealous rage when he went to the kitchen and pulled out an 11-inch knife.

Even his intent was clear as he approached Pamela Scott-Ostrem.

“What was the reason?” Smith said from the witness stand. “To kill her.”

But he insists she had pushed him to the breaking point that night after months of arguing over her relationship with a former boyfriend.

Smith said he started dating Scott-Ostrem in early 1999. At the time, Smith was working two jobs as a security guard. Scott-Ostrem had been living on a disability wage since a car accident left the former respiratory therapist with a brain injury.

The couple moved into an apartment in Camarillo in July. From the beginning, they had a rocky relationship, mostly fighting about an old boyfriend of Scott-Ostrem’s, Smith testified.

The situation was made worse because the ex-boyfriend, Michael Lawrence, was Scott-Ostrem’s power-of-attorney, Smith said. Lawrence used his authority over her finances to remain involved in her affairs, both financial and personal, he said.

“He wouldn’t stop calling us, harassing us,” Smith said. “It made me furious.”

Prosecutors said Smith threatened Lawrence with violence.

In November, Ventura County authorities appointed a public guardian for Scott-Ostrem. But Lawrence continued to be a part of her life.

Still, Smith said the couple got along, fighting only occasionally about Lawrence’s involvement in Scott-Ostrem’s affairs. He downplayed repeated 911 calls Scott-Ostrem made over the months the pair lived together, saying he didn’t understand what made her call for help so often.

On Dec. 20, the couple went to a neighbor’s house to drink and watch television. When Smith began flirting with neighbor Lisa Chambers, Scott-Ostrem became furious, he testified.

The couple began arguing when they returned home, with Scott-Ostrem saying she had an affair with Lawrence, Smith testified.

“I said, ‘Why Pam, why?’ ” said Smith, his face becoming red and his voice raising with emotion. “I grabbed a knife off the table in the kitchen and said, ‘You are going to pay for that.’ And I started stabbing her.” He stabbed her in the knee and thigh before making a 10-inch gash in her chest.

“I just wanted to make the pain stop,” Smith said. “So I stabbed myself in the chest. It all happened so fast.”

Smith later grabbed a cordless phone and dialed 911, telling dispatchers, “I’m dead. I’m dead. I love you. I love you.”

“I thought I was saying goodbye to Pam,” Smith said. “I thought I was dying.”

In closing arguments, Simon told jurors that Smith was a violent man with a history of a bad temper. Numerous 911 calls from the couple’s apartment proved that. And he asked jurors not to believe Smith’s story that Scott-Ostrem was overly hysterical when calling for help.

“She had bloody noses, black eyes,” Simon said, referring to injuries suffered by Scott-Ostrem and noted by police. “But I guess the best evidence that her calls for help weren’t flippant is she’s dead. He killed her.”

Rutan declined to comment on the verdict. Simon, however, said he was pleased and wasn’t surprised at the jury’s quick deliberations.

“It was the right decision because there wasn’t much in dispute,” Simon said. “ . . . He admitted he intended to kill her when he went into the kitchen.”

Smith was ordered to return to court July 5 for sentencing.