The wife of an Olympic medalist found shot to death last year pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges on Tuesday.
The shooting death of former Olympic shot-putter Dave Laut stunned the community. Authorities first though it was a robbery. But last week, detectives arrested his wife on suspicion of gunning him down at their Oxnard home.
Jane Laut, 52, was taken into custody Saturday and remains in
Ventura County jail on a $3-million bond, said her attorney, Ron
Bamieh. He claimed she had been a longtime victim of
domestic abuse.
Laut, 52, was killed by multiple gunshots outside his home around
midnight on Aug. 27. Jane Laut initially told police that they had heard
noises in the backyard and that her husband was slain when he went to
investigate.
In a statement issued after her arrest, Laut’s attorney acknowledged
that his client was the shooter. But she killed her husband in
self-defense during a violent argument in which an intoxicated Laut
threatened to shoot her, their 10-year-old son and their two dogs, Bamieh said.
Jane Laut was able to wrestle the gun away from an intoxicated Dave Laut
when the fight moved to their back patio and he lost his balance,
Bamieh said. One shot was fired during the struggle, the attorney said,
and as she was getting back up she “emptied the gun.”
Friends and former competitors praised Dave Laut as a man of honor and
integrity, and a world-class athlete who returned to his humble Oxnard
roots to teach. Jane Laut took care of their modest home in Oxnard,
where they lived for nearly two decades.
— Catherine Saillant and Shelby Grad
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