Sentencing for convicted murderer Eric Jason Lively was postponed this morning to give the District Attorney’s Office time to respond to an expected defense motion for a new trial.
Judge Christopher Wilson’s courtroom was jammed with friends and relatives of 42-year-old Jesse Simpson, who died on May 3, 2017, after Lively’s pickup truck struck him at an intersection in Shelter Cove. A jury convicted Lively of second-degree murder, which carries a term to 15 years to life in state prison.
Lively.
Defense attorney Russ Clanton said he plans to file a motion for new trial, which is routine in homicide cases. Deputy District Attorney Adrian Kamada, who is out of the office this week, will need time to respond to that motion.
In
addition, Wilson and attorneys had not received necessary reports
from the Probation Department.
One
of Simpson’s family members, his sister Crystal Wise, was allowed
to address the judge this morning because she traveled to Humboldt
County from Simpson’s home state of Oklahoma. She won’t be able
to return later.
Wise,
her voice barely audible in the courtroom audience, said Simpson not
only had strong support in the community of Shelter Cove, but also in
the Oklahoma town where he grew up. He was so famous as a high school
athlete, she said, that his picture still hangs in the high school
gym.
She
described her brother as non-judgmental person who always gave others
“a chance to show him who they were and what they were.”
“Jesse
never had a bad word to say about anyone,” Wise said.
Lively,
wearing an orange jail jumpsuit and standing next to his attorney in
the jury box, listened quietly as she spoke. According to trial
testimony, he had been threatening to kill Simpson for days before he
ran over him. He was convinced Simpson and others were stealing from
him and having sex with his ex-girlfriend.
This
morning Judge Wilson thanked Simpson’s sister for her comments and
said they would taken into consideration at sentencing.
The sentencing and motion for new trial are scheduled for March 28.
###
PREVIOUSLY:
- LIVELY TRIAL, DAY ONE: Shelter Cove Murder-by-Truck Trial Begins, With Prosecution and Defense Laying Out Dramatically Different Cases
- LIVELY TRIAL, DAY TWO: Daughter of Shelter Cove Murder Suspect Testifies, Says That Father Told Her Not to Call Police
- LIVELY TRIAL, DAY THREE: Trial Mysteriously Suspended, Jurors Sent Home
- LIVELY TRIAL, DAY FOUR: Boss Testifies Accused Shelter Cove Murderer Said ‘He Might Go Kill His Neighbor’
- LIVELY TRIAL, DAY FIVE: Police, Firefighter Testify About Victim’s Last Minutes, Subsequent Investigation
- LIVELY TRIAL, DAY SIX: Police Testify That Fatal Collision Took Place in the Middle of the Road, Suggesting Victim May Have Been at Fault
- LIVELY TRIAL, DAY SEVEN: Jurors Hear About That Other Time Eric Lively Was Arrested For Attempting to Run Someone Over With His Truck
- LIVELY TRIAL, DAY EIGHT: Accused Shelter Cove Murderer’s Ex Testifies He Was Abusive, Often Provoked Neighbors; Prosecution Rests
- LIVELY TRIAL, DAY NINE: The Defendant Takes the Stand, in Tears; Says ‘I Wasn’t Looking for Any Trouble’
- LIVELY TRIAL, DAY TEN: Defendant Spends Second Day on the Stand Denying Testimony of Police, Previous Victim, His Own Teenage Daughter
- LIVELY TRIAL, DAY ELEVEN: Victim Had ‘Toxic’ Levels of Meth in His Blood; Defense Rests
- LIVELY TRIAL, DAY TWELVE: Prosecution Calls Upon Cops to Undermine Defendant’s Recollection of Facts; Testimony Ends
- LIVELY TRIAL, CLOSING ARGUMENTS: Shelter Cove Murder Suspect Believed Victim Was Part of ‘Tweaker Network’ Always Stealing From Him, Says Prosecutor
- LIVELY TRIAL, CLOSING ARGUMENTS: Defense Attorney Rips Into District Attorney’s Case: Why Didn’t Prosecution Call Upon CHP Crash Investigators to Testify?
- LIVELY TRIAL: Jury Hears Final Arguments in Shelter Cove Murder Case; Deliberations Begin
- GUILTY: Jury Finds Eric Lively Guilty of Second Degree Murder After Less Than Five Hours of Deliberation; Sentencing Scheduled for Early March
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