Dekalb County murder trial ends in a hung jury
On Monday, a DeKalb County judge declared a mistrial in the case of a Dunwoody woman accused of shooting and killing her wealthy husband. The mistrial was handed down after jurors became deadlocked as to whether the woman acted in self-defense.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the story.
The week-long trial forced jurors to answer whether Lona Scott, 47, shot her husband six times to protect herself or whether she was after his millions of dollars. After 20 hours of deliberation, the jury, which consisted of four women and eight men, were evenly divided as to guilt. It was at that time that Superior Court Judge Cynthia Brown issued the mistrial.
Lona’s husband, Ralph C. “Cliff” Scott, 42, was described as a muscular man who ran a successful trucking company. Lona and Ralph Scott wedded in 2000 and endured a turbulent marriage with alleged past acts of violence and cheating.
During trial, jurors heard Lona Scott explain how her husband, Ralph C. “Cliff” Scott, became angered late one night in March of 2008 after she refused to have sex with him or talk about the divorce petition she had filed. She then described to jurors the scene that took place in the couple’s master bedroom. Cliff Scott apparently pulled Lona’s hair and put her in a choke-hold. He only released her after she told him that he was going to wake their 5 year old daughter. Lona then retrieved a .22 caliber hand gun from a desk in hopes of leaving the home safely.
However, Cliff Scott refused to let her leave and told her that he could kill her since she had a gun. He then allegedly charged after Lona at which time she fired a single bullet into his chest. Lona claims that Cliff charged her again causing her to pull the trigger five more times. Three of those bullets struck Cliff in the elbows and forehead. The other two lodged in his back as he turned and fell to the floor. Lona then called 911.
Defense attorney Brian Steel, of the Steel Law Firm in Atlanta, asked Lona Scott why she did it. She told jurors, “Because he was going to kill me.” However, Assistant District Attorney John Melvin believes that money was the true motive. Melvin argued to jurors that Lona was after Cliff Scott’s five million dollar estate. Melvin explained that Lona became enraged after learning that Cliff was in the process of transferring his money into a secretive account in the Bahamas where he planned to live.
The District Attorney’s Office expects to retry the case soon.
