OSWEGO -- Update: (10:00 PM)
It took an Oswego County Jury a little over six hours of deliberations to convict a 69 year old woman of killing her 76 year old husband. The jury found Joyce Malone guilty of manslaughter in the first degree instead of the original charge of second degree murder. Assistant District Attorney Gregory Oakes said about the verdict, "It was disappointing. I ultimately believed she was guilty of murder second degree. There were a lot of factors involved given the history of the marriage as described the children."
The judge instructed the jury to first consider whether Malone was guilty of the one count before them of murder. Once they found her guilty of murder they had to consider the extreme emotional disturbance defense presented by her attorney. The jury concluded the domestic violence she suffered at the hands of her husband Ralph Malone was extreme emotional disturbance.
District Attorney Oakes understood the jury had a significant challenge, "I didn't envy the decision the jury had to make . There were a lot of tough factors. It was a complicated relationship to say the least."
Malone is scheduled for sentencing on March 7th. The defense has notified the judge it plans to ask for a reduced sentencing on the manslaughter charge under New York's domestic violence law. That would reduce the potential sentence from 5 to 3 years on the low end to 25 to 12 1/2 on the high end.
Shirley Malone remains free on bail of $100,000 pending sentencing.
Earlier Coverage:
A 69 year old Oswego County woman is scheduled to go on trial today for the murder of her husband. Jury selection is slated for today in the case against Joyce Malone of the Town of Oswego,. She's accused of the shooting death of 76 year old Ralph Malone in their home back in March of last year. The victim had worked as a City of Oswego police officer for eight years, and the couple had run a gun shop for many years.
