Page 2 - Jane Stru News Today

>> it wasnt a pop, hesitation pop, hesitation pop? it was one, two, three? >> as jane talked to investigators into the early morning hours, the awful news was getting around. >> we got a call about 5:00 in the morning. >> what happens to a person? you go to bed at night and everythings fine. the phone rings at 5:00 in the morning, suddenly your life is a very different thing. >> its like an earthquake. it just shakes your whole foundation and being. and things are never the same after. it was aw...

Indicated it would be open to making a deal. >> and i was blown away. >> a plea deal? yes. and what a deal it was. said bamieh. if jane pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, she would be sentenced to just six years and would most likely serve only three. seemed like an admission of weakness from the prosecution. said bamieh. and the opportity of a lifetime for a woman facing first-degree murder and 50 to life. and so -- >> i gave her my strong recommendation that she take it. and she said no...

Things began to make sense. >> we saw her less and less. >> more than two decades passed. helen had a long career as a social worker, and gradually lost touch with jane. >> i would always send her christmas cards and say, call me, whatever. and i would never hear from her. >> and then helen heard about daves death. >> everybody was pointing to jane. and like a light bulb went off and im like, oh, my god, she was a battered wife. and you didnt get it. you didnt see it. >> but the very idea that j...

>> defense attorney ron bamieh countered the real victim was jane laut, who suffered the utmost cruelty at the hands of her husband. >> he is not the hero of the olympics. he is the monster who abused her for 27 years. >> the defense called family and friends and neighbors who all testified jane was an abused spouse. but attorney bamieh said the most important witness was the defendant herself. >> if youre going to get a not guilty, which is what were shooting for, she has to testify. >> the jud...

Play baseball. >> all those years jane was afraid to report dave. said bamieh, afraid of what he might do to her loved ones. so she covered up her abuse and her injuries. we obtained this summary of a police report from the 1980s in which jane reported that an intruder attacked her while she was alone at work. at the time, police found the injuries consistent with janes story. in fact, said bamieh, dave inflicted those injuries. then ordered jane to lie, and blame a nonexistent intruder. a patte...

Courthouse and what waited there. >> it appears to be in order. so i will read the verdict. we the jury in the above entitled action find the defendant, jane laut, guilty of the crime of first degree murder. >> guilty of first degree murder. a shock ran through the room. ron, who so believed in her innocence looked distraught. and jane comforted him. the woman who flat turned down six years now faces the possibility of life in prison. it was a victory for daves family, yes, but not one to celebr...

>> the officers had to lock down and call in a homicide team to investigate further. it was a brutal scene. >> ventura countys investigator mike palmeiri arrived, there was no sign of a prowler. but they did find dave laut. >> he had been shot multiple times. he was on the ground, face down, with very obvious gunshot wounds to his back and to the back of his head. >> jane was a mess. she told investigators she had no idea who would do this. >> is there anybody who would want to harm him at all? ...

Testimony, final arguments from both sides, defense attorney made an impassioned plea to the jury. >> why would jane laut do this? why would she do this? when you think about it, theres only one real reason. its what anybody would do to protect their child. >> you do not have the right to kill your husband. >> while the prosecutor urged the jury to look past the emotion and focus on the evidence. >> the defense testimony is false. it is untruthful. it is unbelievable. it is a story made up to ra...

One time on her face. her arms, her legs. several places. >> this is a monster. hes just a monster. >> ron bamieh is janes defense attorney. and according to him, dave laut is far from the hometown hero so many believed him to be. the real truth about dave laut, said bamieh, for nearly three decades, he subjected his wife to horrific abuse. >> like all abuse, its power and control. we have verbal abuse, over a long period of time. emotional abuse. the way he treats her. we have physical abuse, t...

Temper at the woman hes married to, and abusing her, hitting her? >> no. >> never. >> no. >> no, said the lauts. no, said the police. besides, they said maybe jane had quite another motive for killing dave laut. a financial one. coming up, borrowed money -- >> thousands and thousands of dollars. >> and even more money if dave was dead. >> sometimes she would say things like, id be better off if dave wasnt around. >> when "dateline extra" continues. ♪ a complete multivitamin with key nutrient...