Cherokee County jury convicts woman in husband's death

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) -- A Cherokee County jury convicted an Eldon woman Thursday of second-degree murder in the shooting death of her husband.<br/><br/>Prosecutors charged Pearl Lynne Smith, 48, with

Friday, June 18th 2004, 5:41 am

By: News On 6

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) -- A Cherokee County jury convicted an Eldon woman Thursday of second-degree murder in the shooting death of her husband.

Prosecutors charged Pearl Lynne Smith, 48, with first-degree murder in the June 10, 2003, death of Thomas Smith. Pearl Smith said she shot her husband in self defense.

The panel of six men and six women opted for a lesser punishment and recommended a 28-year prison sentence for Smith, who will be formally sentenced July 16.

District Attorney Richard Gray said he was satisfied with the verdict.

"It is good that the citizens of Cherokee County take their civic duties so seriously," Gray said in a news release. "This is the second positive verdict the Cherokee County jurors have issued in favor of the prosecution this week."

Authorities said they hadn't been called to the Smith home for domestic trouble before, but neighbors told investigators that the couple had problems.

Pearl Smith and her neighbors told police that Thomas Smith, 51, may have been angry with her because their goats hadn't been fed.

During testimony on Wednesday, Sheriff Delena Goss said she found Thomas Smith lying on the floor near the door when she arrived at the Smiths' home.

Goss said Pearl Smith was sitting in a chair at the table and the 9mm pistol used to shoot her husband was on the table.

Pearl Smith was upset, Goss said.

"She Ã›PearlÃ just automatically started talking to me," Goss said. "She said they had been fighting and he came at her so she shot him."

William Cunningham, the Smiths' neighbor, said Pearl Smith called him and said he needed him to come to the Smith home.

"I thought one of the goats was caught in the fence," Cunningham testified.

He said he learned when he got to the house that Thomas had been shot.

"She Ã›PearlÃ said 'I couldn't take another beating so I shot him,"' Cunningham told jurors.

None of the witnesses testified that they saw injuries on Pearl on the night of the shooting.

Terry Rogers, a friend of Thomas Smith, said he and Thomas worked at Spartan School of Aeronautics and were in the U.S. Air Force together.

He told jurors he never heard Thomas Smith say anything that made him believe he was physically abusive to his wife.