[Mike Irwin]

FORT WORTH, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas jury on Thursday found a woman guilty of murdering a homeless man when she left him to bleed to death in her garage after running into him and driving home with him lodged in the windshield.

The jury, which deliberated less than an hour, also found Mallard guilty of tampering with evidence, for which she could be sentenced to between two and 10 tears in prison.


Mallard closed her eyes and appeared to choke back tears as the verdict was read.


Mallard hit Biggs, 37, after a night of drinking and drug use, then drove the nearly two miles home with him stuck in the windshield, his body hanging down into the car.


Prosecutors said she left Biggs to slowly die in her darkened garage while she plotted with friends on how to dispose of the body.


Medical experts said he bled to death from a nearly amputated left leg.


"There is no question that Chante's failure to render aid or call for assistance probably caused his death," Mallard's attorney James Kearney said in closing arguments. But he said, "That is not murder."


Kearney questioned the reliability of testimony provided by Mallard's friends, who said the former nurse's aide plotted with them to dispose of the body while Biggs was dying.


Prosecutor Christy Jack said in her closing arguments that when Mallard drove with Biggs wedged in her car and decided to shut her garage door instead of calling for help, she guaranteed his death.


"Every breath he drew was more painful than the last. Merely inches away was a woman who held his life in the palm of her hand," Jack said in describing the scene in Mallard's compact Chevrolet car.


Jack said Mallard knew Biggs was alive in her car when she shut her garage door and started calling her friends, and every decision made after that time was done with the intent of trying to get away with the crime and not seeking to help him.


The medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Biggs testified on Wednesday the homeless man must have been in excruciating pain and would have lived if he received prompt medical attention for his wounds.


The defense called only one witness, a medical examiner from another Texas county who said he thought Biggs lost consciousness after slamming through the windshield and died within two hours.


Following the verdict, the jury was to hear more testimony, then determine her punishment.

[Kharn]

Considering this is in Texas, I bet somebody's already getting the cocktail ready and sterilizing the needle.

Kharn

[Meowhead]

According to this story (http://www.canada.com/news/story.asp?id=45AF3B82-8487-4883-A59B-6D4551F0D567) , she's only getting life in prison.
Unfortunately.

[Drjones]

Why isn't this a hate crime?

I read in another article that the woman is black and the man she hit is white.

[Mike Irwin]

"Why isn't this a hate crime."

There was never an established element of racism driving her actions.

Alcohol, drugs, stupidity, fear, contempt, etc., were all components, but racial hatred wasn't.

[4v50 Gary]

Justice is served.

[Drjones]

I was being kinda sarcastic and should have pointed that out.

I meant that had their races been reversed, we'd have riots and Jesse Jackson screaming and all that.

:rolleyes:

[Skunkabilly]

sterilizing the needle

Why, so she doesn't get an infection? :confused: :neener:

[10-Ring]

deliberated less than an hour

WOW! It took them that long? Those Texas juries are starting to slip :evil:

[foghornl]

Probably took them most of that time to elect jury foreman and assign seats in the jury room....

[Russ]

She will be a leading candidate for the 2003 Darwin Awards.

[Kharn]

Skunk: Its something they always do, I guess in case the governor grants clemency at the last second.

Kharn

[Graystar]

She will be a leading candidate for the 2003 Darwin Awards. To win a Darwin you have to kill *yourself* through your stupidity.

[STW]

you have to kill *yourself*

Actually, all you have to do is remove yourself from the possible gene pool. Castrating yourself (if male) is sufficient to qualify. :what:

[HankB]

There was never an established element of racism driving her actions. According to early newspaper reports, she laughingly said to her boyfriend words to the effect of "Hey, look in the garage, I hit a white guy."

[2dogs]

It's hard to imagine a sadder way to die than what that poor guy went through.

She deserves whatever she gets and more.

[Airboss]

Just another Reason to be glad I live in Texas



There are only two kind of people in this world:
Texans and those that wish they were!

[Yanus]

Airboss,
My grandfather used to say the same thing: "Life is too short to drink cheap whiskey!":D

Yep, this pos is headed for Gatesville for the rest of her sorry life. She can be somebody's "bitch" for the next 40 years.........

Yanus

[Jim March]

Sigh.

How tragic.

Another horrible death in the hood.

[moa]

Off topic a bit, but not everybody who officially wins a Darwin Award dies.

There is the absolutely hilarious story of the guy who always wanted to fly. So, he got himself about 50 surplus weather balloons and filled they with helium. He had a lawn chair tethered to the balloons. He had some beer and an air pistol, the purpose of the pistol to explode the ballons when he was finished "flying" in his lawn chair. He had the contraption tied down to his jeep.

Anyway, he cut the rope to the jeep and started rising. He only expected to go up a 100 feet or so and just float around. Well, he immediately ascended up to about 11,000 feet and started drifting out to sea just as it was getting dark.

Now this is the real funny part.

This was near LAX airport. One jet airliner was approaching LAX, and the pilot reported to the control tower that at 11,000 feet there was some guy outside in a lawn chair with a gun!

The freaked out "flyer" was eventually, and apparenlty with great difficulty, was rescued by a helicopter.

When the "flyer" was asked why he did what he did, he replied, "Well, a guy can't just sit around!"

[cratz2]

I'm probably the very least racist person I know and rarely bring up the race card but if a middle aged white man hit a 25 year old black woman and left her... made a conscience decision to let her die... in his garage and it was made public, there would be rioting in several major cities.

Regardless of color... it's sad a very sad reflection of the state of affairs in the world today. I mean, if you want to go home and try to find a way to dispose of the body and remove all evidence, that's one thing but what this woman did... well... she should have her own ring in Hell. :(

[CZ-100]

Considering this is in Texas, I bet somebody's already getting the cocktail ready and sterilizing the needle.

And This is the way it should be... Hell she should be put to death today!

[El Tejon]

moa, I believe that was an episode of my favorite documentary "King of the Hill." When the guy with the sunglasses and hat sends the blubberpot off on the lawnchair. I'm laughing still. Geez, what a great show.

Question to axe of you Texicanos: Why no death penalty? Was this a Tejas equiv depraved heart or reckless homicide case?

[Jim March]

OK...I guess ON the hood is more accurate...

[Tacblack]

Why isn't this a hate crime?
I would have to agree with the others, If the colors were reversed "hate crime" charges would have been present so why aren't they now. I am tired of the reverse racism, double standard.

I would like to believe no person could do such a thing to any living animal or person, especially with the poor reason's she had. It sad to see someone could be so cold for no reason. What a lapse in humanity.

Like everyone else I have a good idea on how she should die, just need a car and a garage. The needle will be to fast.

[Carlos]

Like everyone else I have a good idea on how she should die, just need a car and a garage. The needle will be to fast.

Agreed. Then, instead of turning the lights off and leaving, just surround the car with beer drinking buddies and laugh at her til she dies.

I'm still having a hard time believing people could be this cold.

We've had two hit and run accidents, resulting in death, in Portland in the last two weeks. Latest guy plowed into group of bicyclists on a dedicated bike lane and killed two, then attempted to leave the scene, dragging the bikes. :(

Not sure if the other selfish b#$**** has been caught yet.

[ACP]

Saw a picture of the POS in the newspaper today. She was dressed in a pink w/black trim "twin set" (cardigan sweater w/ a sleeveless blouse underneath, think Grace Kelly) with a pearl necklace and pearl stud earrings. Her hair was cut in a bob. Remember, this was the woman who was high on crack, pot, and drunk when she struck the man. F*cking lawyers will do ANYTHING to influence a jury.

My comment to a co-worker today when I heard she was found guilty: I hope she gets stuck halfway in the jail cell bars when they slam the door on her. :mad:

Sorry for the bad language.

[Waitone]

The only way this woman could have ignored her victim is by de-humanizing him. No sympathy, no horror, no typical and expected human emotions or reactions.

She said she hit a white man then proceeded to show him to guests. I heard earlier she went out several times to talk to him.

Sounds like premeditation to me after the initial accident.

I got 2 problems:
1>Tejas taxpayers have to support a killer for life. Doesn't sound fair to me.
2>The gene pool is at great risk.

Imagine the rage of community leaders if the races were reverse. Racism would be assumed.

[Smoke]

would have to agree with the others, If the colors were reversed "hate crime" charges would have been present so why aren't they now

Minorities can't be racist.:banghead:

Question to axe of you Texicanos: Why no death penalty? Was this a Tejas equiv depraved heart or reckless homicide case

The specific charge she was charged with does not have the death penalty attached to it. (I did a search but came up short)

They are doing sentencing on her right now. Defense's main point seems to be: Don't put her away; she was stoned!"

:cuss:

[erikm]

There is the absolutely hilarious story of the guy who always wanted to fly. So, he got himself about 50 surplus weather balloons and filled they with helium. He had a lawn chair tethered to the balloons. He had some beer and an air pistol, the purpose of the pistol to explode the ballons when he was finished "flying" in his lawn chair. He had the contraption tied down to his jeep.
This guy didn't get a Darwin Award, just an honorable mention. Lawn Chair Larry (http://www.darwinawards.com/stupid/stupid1997-11.html) also got a FAA fine, a prize from the Dallas Bonehead Club and the unofficial altitude record for gas-filled cluster balloons :D. here (http://www.snopes.com/spoons/noose/balloon.htm) is another take on the story.

Cheers,
ErikM :evil:

[tiberius]

I'm not a native, but I have lived here almost 8 years now and I have to say that I am proud of our juries' recent behavior in high profile cases. In the past year we have had three criminal cases that have received national attention:

1. That Yates women who drowned her children - claimed insanity, but jury claimed BS and convicted her.
2. That woman who ran over here cheating husband, claimed it was an accident, the jury said BS and gave her 20 years.
3. This winshield case......

Somehow, I think that if these trials happened in California, everyone single one of them would have walked.

[LostOneToo]

About damned time somebody got what they deserved and their whiney-assed excuse didn't hold up. :D