/crime
WHITE PLAINS, New York (AP) -- A disbarred attorney who lived three doors down from Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton in suburban New York was convicted Saturday of murdering his wife in what prosecutors said was an attempt to collect life insurance money.
A Westchester County jury found Carlos Perez-Olivo guilty of second-degree murder. He could get life in prison.
Prosecutors said the troubled lawyer shot his schoolteacher wife, Peggy, in the back of the head as she dozed in their car during a drive to their home in Chappaqua on November 18, 2006.
Perez-Olivo then gave himself a superficial gunshot wound, tossed the weapon into a lake, and called 911 claiming that a carjacker had attacked him and his wife. The 59-year-old said the armed stranger forced him off the road, muscled his way into the car and fired three shots as the two men struggled.
That elaborate claim of innocence failed to convince the jury, which also convicted Perez-Olivo of illegal weapons possession. Prosecutors claimed Perez-Olivo wanted to collect his wife's life insurance, which totaled nearly $900,000.
The verdict caused an outburst from the man's son. The Journal News reported that Merced Perez-Hall began swearing and screaming when he learned in a courtroom hallway of his father's fate, then punched a hole in a plaster wall.
Defense attorney Christopher McClure said he was disappointed with the verdict and would appeal.
During the trial, the jury heard a recording of Perez-Olivo's 911 call, during which he told police, sobbing, that his wife had been shot by a Hispanic man and that he was driving her to the hospital.
"I'm driving! I'm driving! I'm going to get there," he said on the tape. "I can't stop. I can't stop!"
His children testified that their parents' 30-year marriage was happy and that their father was devastated by her death.
"He was screaming out my mom's name," said Alysia Perez-Hall, 18. "He was in complete and utter pain."
But the prosecution found a witness who testified that he had seen Perez-Olivo handling a gun just like the pre-World War II Walther PPK that investigators fished from Echo Lake in New Castle. That gun was established as the weapon that killed Peggy Perez-Olivo.
Prosecutors also noted that Perez-Olivo had a 10-year affair during his marriage. And they said Perez-Olivo, having been disbarred three months before the shooting for misconduct in his representation of criminal clients, was down to $300 in his bank accounts.
At the time of the killing, former President Clinton and Sen. Rodham Clinton said they were "saddened" to hear of the death of their neighbor.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
All About Hillary Clinton • Bill Clinton • Criminal Trials • Murder and Homicide
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed | Top Searches |
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed | Top Searches |
From the Blogs: 
Sit tight, we're getting to the good stuff
