Rich Law PC

Thank you to all who viewed the video and provided feedback. The assigned Deputy District Attorney reviewed the video and decided to dismiss the case.

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/03/27/benton-county-attempted-murder-trial-dismissed-undisclosed-footage/

Attempted murder trial in Benton County abruptly dismissed after three days amid undisclosed footage Body camera footage showed the alleged victim contradicting his claim of self-defense. It wasn’t released for two years.

Our client is a domestic violence survivor. In 2022 she was assaulted by her abuser and in self defense she shot him. He beat her and took the gun. He then lied claiming she had a flare gun and shot her multiple times. She did not have a phone but he did. As she fled for her life he called 911 and told dispatchers that she shot him without provocation. They rushed to his aid and had him transported to the hospital. They didn’t find her until roughly 4 hours later on a logging road bloody and shot. The first thing she tells them is that it was self defense. She makes numerous other statements consistent with that assertion but when confronted at the hospital and advised of her rights she told them she wanted a lawyer.

They also talked to the abuser at the hospital and he repeated the story he told 911. Upon my client’s release from the hospital they tracked her down and arrested her for Attempted Murder despite the fact that she was scheduled for surgeries, other medical procedures and was working on getting a lawyer to help her through this traumatic event. She was still wearing the paper hospital clothes because that was all she had.

Trial started last Monday. On Wednesday, I requested evidence during my cross examination of one of the detectives. He was sent to retrieve the items that I requested as they had not been provided previously. What we received was evidence on innocence that had been in the possession of the police for 2 years 2 months and 19 days. What they had was a statement from the abuser that he hit her and she shot him. They also had other exculpatory evidence from an interview with the person that picked her up from the hospital and was allowing her to stay at his residence. In his statements that were not provided for 2 years 2 months and 19 days, he told the detective that the abuser had hit her and busted her nose before any shooting happened.

On Thursday, we played the four videos that hadn’t been provided previously for the judge and he dismissed the indictment for a violation of my client’s due process rights. As a result of this prosecution she lost everything but she needs her story told.