California Woman Gets 50 Years for Murdering Olympic Medalist Husband Who She Accused of Beating Her
The widow of a 1984 Olympic medalist was sentenced Tuesday to at least 50 years in prison for his 2009 murder, PEOPLE has confirmed.
The sentence came nearly five months after Jane Laut, 59, was found guilty of the first-degree premeditated murder of her husband, Dave Laut, who was found shot to death in the yard of their Oxnard, California, home on Aug. 27, 2009.
Dave Laut, a 52-year-old athletic director at Hueneme High School in Oxnard and a bronze medalist in shot put, was shot five times with a .22 caliber handgun, authorities have said. The last bullet was fired into the back of his head.
"On behalf of all victims of violent crime and the family of Dave Laut, our office is pleased the defendant received her sentence for the first-degree murder committed against her husband," Ventura County Senior Deputy District Attorney Rameen Minoui told the Ventura County Star.
"After the six-male/six-female jury verdict finding her guilty of premeditated murder, this is the mandatory sentence under California law," Minoui told the paper. "When a person commits a callous murder in such a brutal fashion, they will be appropriately sentenced regardless of their race, age, gender, or socio-economic status."
(The Ventura County District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.)
Jane has said that for years she was a victim of Dave's domestic abuse, and that the shooting was in self-defense. But, during the trial, prosecutors argued that she stood to gain $300,000 from her husband's insurance and that there was no evidence of physical abuse.
They also contended she hid the gun in a grandfather clock after the shooting, before calling 911 to report a prowler.
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Jane has maintained that she was a battered woman who was repeatedly beaten and raped throughout the couple's 29-year marriage, and that on the night of his death, she shot her husband in self-defense. She said he was armed with a gun and threatened her, the family dogs and their 10-year-old son.
"There were bruises on her body to show for it," Laut's defense attorney, Ron Bamieh, tells PEOPLE of the alleged abuse. "A neighbor heard it."
Bamieh says that during the trial, more than 40 witnesses testified that over the years they saw "black eyes and unexplained bruising on [Jane's] legs and arms."
"They are all people who are prominent in our community here that saw things," Bamieh says. "Unfortunately nobody did anything."
But the jury didn't buy it. They "thought she could have stopped," after firing one or two shots, Bamieh tells PEOPLE. "Our opinion was the threat never ended until he was dead."
Dave's family has also rejected Jane's claims: Speaking at her sentencing hearing this week, Dave's younger brother grew tearful, according to the Star.
"The defense went on the attack, bashing Dave's character and saying hateful, hurtful, despicable lies to the media," Don Laut said, according to the Star. "Then there was the gut-wrenching realization that Jane was the one who murdered my brother execution-style.
"Their desperate attempt to sway the jury became a hindrance to our desire to allow Dave to rest in peace. The stress of this at times became unbearable because I wanted so badly to be his voice and to stand up for him because he couldn't defend himself."
Prior to the trial, Bamieh says, Jane rejected a prosecution offer to plead guilty to manslaughter, which would have allowed her to get out of prison after serving a six-year term.
He says they plan to appeal her conviction.
"She wanted people to hear her story and she wanted people to know the truth about Mr. Laut and what he did," Bamieh says. "She was a domestic violence victim 18 months ago when they offered a six-year deal and she still is today."
