Murder Or Manslaughter? Orville Fleming's Fate Now In Jury's Hands
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The fate of disgraced Cal Fire battalion chief Orville Fleming is now in the hands of a jury.
Fleming is accused of murder in the stabbing and strangulation of his fiancee, 26-year-old Sarah Douglas.
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Now a jury must decide whether Fleming committed murder or manslaughter. Fleming admitted to stabbing Douglas on the witness stand last week, but attorneys argue his testimony shows he was in a dissociative state at the time and acting in a fit of anger.
Monday was the first day cameras were allowed inside the courtroom, and they captured Fleming showing little emotion while listening to closing arguments.
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Deputy district attorney Noah Phillips insists Fleming had enough time to realize what he was doing to make the killing first-degree murder.
"Knife scenario, premeditation, strangulation, premeditation; you put those two together and there is strong evidence of premeditated first-degree murder," he said.
Of all people, Phillips says Fleming had been trained to think quickly and under stress, and that the battalion chief's claims of suffering temporary amnesia are lies.
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"From firefighter, to crew chief, to fire captain means you're probably pretty good at making cold calculated decisions," he said.
At one point, gruesome photos of the crime scene were displayed, and Fleming refused to look.
Defense attorney Pete Kemeto told jurors this was a crime of passion, provoked by Douglas, who Fleming says verbally abused him.
"How would you like to be called a piece of s--- f------ loser? It's in the text. How about a b----?" he said.
He insists a voluntary manslaughter conviction would not let Fleming walk free.
"If you kill somebody in the heat of passion, provoked by them you still have committed a crime. No one is getting away with anything here," he said.
The jury will resume deliberations on Tuesday.
