A Clark County jury should receive the case today of a Ridgefield woman on trial for shooting her husband after she discovered he’d been having an affair.
Closing arguments are expected this morning, followed by jury deliberation.
Trial began Monday for Sheryl J. Martin, who is charged with first-degree attempted murder in the shooting of her then-husband, Eddie E. Martin, on Sept. 8, 2007.
The shooting followed an argument in which Sheryl Martin confronted her husband about her suspicions that he’d been cheating on her. She saw him sending text messages on his cell phone and confronted him, the prosecution alleged, and Eddie Martin confessed to the affair.
Later that night, as Eddie Martin was sleeping in a camper on the property, Sheryl Martin shot him twice in the leg with a 16-gauge double-barrelled shotgun. After reloading, she shot him again in the arm, Eddie Martin testified at trial.
Neither side disputes that Sheryl Martin shot her husband. The case, instead, hinges on her mental and emotional state moments before the alleged crime.
Judge Barbara Johnson earlier struck down defense attorney David McDonald’s attempts to use a “betrayal trauma theory” to argue that his client wasn’t of sound mind because of the affair. She did, however, allow him to argue that Sheryl Martin’s depression and histrionic personality disorder, or a disorder in which a person overreacts to get attention, could have prevented her from forming legal intent.
Two psychologists testified — one for the prosecution and one for the defense — offering opposing opinions of Martin’s ability to form intent.
Wrapping up the evidence in the case, McDonald on Thursday showed jurors taped footage of the Martin house, an elegant home with a wraparound porch. Inside the house was filled with family photos and decorated in a country and floral style.
McDonald has argued to jurors that Sheryl Martin, when married to Eddie Martin, took great pains to exude the impression she had a perfect marriage and home life. But in reality, McDonald said, she was depressed and had an up-and-down marriage.
The mandatory minimum sentence for attempted murder is 15 years in prison. Sheryl Martin is 54 years old.
