"Dr.L.D.Misek-Falkoff" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Kathy, thanks, that's quite detailed. They don't mention the computer
files where he apparently was thinking of killing, but they do mention
her pulling out the phone cord so the police could not be called; that
must have IMO made a very vivid impression on the jury. Thx for the
post. :) LDMF.
----------------------Kathy E wrote:----------------------------------
>
> Kathy E <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>
> Amber Bray, 20, and her boyfriend, Jeffrey Ayers, 23, were charged with
> murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the beating and stabbing death
> of Bray's mother in January 1996. Bray and her mother, Dixie Hollier,
> had a strained relationship, and prosecutors claimed that Bray coerced
> Ayers into killing her mother with promises of marriage and his share of
> an inheritance worth $300,000. In addition, prosecutors said Bray told
> Ayers that she would kill herself if he did not kill her mother.
>
> In a videotaped confession, Ayers admitted to his role in the murder and
> insisted that although Bray knew about his intentions, he alone planned
> the crime. During his confession, Ayers said that he decided to kill
> Hollier when Bray threatened to kill herself because her mother
> allegedly abused her so much. (At one point, Ayers even breaks down and
> begs police to let him take the blame for the murder and spare Bray.)
> Ayers's attorneys argued that Bray manipulated his love for her and
> forced him into the slaying.
>
> On the other hand, Bray contended that Ayers decided to kill Hollier
> entirely on his own. Bray's defense claimed that she is only guilty of
> associating with Ayers.
>
> Deterioration of a Mother-Daughter Relationship
>
> The victim, Dixie Hollier, was a divorced single mother who was a
> manager of special projects at Warner Brothers and was involved in
> management of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. She lived with her two teen-age
> daughters and five-year-old son in a modest duplex in Burbank.
>
> According to Bray's younger sister, Bray and Hollier fought about issues
> such as curfews and household chores. Their relationship became
> increasingly strained in the fall of 1995, when Bray began cutting
> school often and was transferred to Monterey Continuation High School, a
> school geared towards students with academic or attendance problems.
> Sometimes the arguments between Bray and her mother escalated into
> shoving matches, as they fought over Bray's schoolwork and the crowd
> with which she associated.
>
> Around this time, Bray also started dating Jeffrey Ayers, a high school
> dropout who lived with his mother and was an avid "Dungeons and Dragons"
> fan. Ayers soon became Bray's confidant, especially after numerous
> fights with her mother. Eventually, Ayers became convinced that Hollier
> was abusing Bray and became concerned for her mental well-being.
> According to friends of both defendants, Bray and Ayers began making
> plans to marry and live together.
>
> The Murder
>
> On January 16, 1996, Ayers entered Bray's house just before 5 am. Police
> suspected that Bray met him at the door and let him in. Ayers then
> entered Hollier's room and fired five shots at her. Two bullets hit
> Hollier, grazing her forehead and shattering her upper right arm. When
> Hollier started yelling for help, Ayers began to beat her in the head
> with the butt of the gun. Then Ayers went into the kitchen, grabbed
> three knives, and stabbed Hollier 24 times.
>
> Awakened by the gunfire, Bray's younger sister ran out of her room to
> find Ayers attacking her mother. She tried to call police, but Bray
> pulled out the phone cord. The younger sister put the plug back in, but
> Bray then allegedly pulled the phone out of the wall and ordered her to
> look after her younger brother. As the attack continued, Bray barricaded
> herself and her siblings in the back bedroom.
>
> A neighbor heard the gunfire and called police. When they arrived, they
> saw Ayers through a window straddling Hollier and continuing to stab
> her. With Hollier's blood covering his hands and clothes, Ayers
> surrendered without resistance to police. He confessed on video three
> hours later. Police began to suspect Bray after her sister told them
> that she had pulled out the phone cord when she tried to call the police
> during the attack. The authorities also found various letters between
> Bray and Ayers in Bray's bedroom that outlined their plan to kill
> Hollier.
>
> "Someday in November"
>
> In one of the letters between Ayers and Bray, dated "Someday in
> November," Bray suggested that she and Ayers arrange to have her sister
> and mother killed while they take her younger brother out to a movie. "I
> come home and discover them, call the police...and it goes on record as
> another unsolved homicide," she writes. In that letter, Bray also
> discusses how she and Ayers would spend her inheritance from her mother.
> Ayers responded to the letter by writing, "Your mother and sister will
> trouble you no more."
>
> Bray and Ayers were tried together in front of two different juries.
> (Ayers's confession was not shown to Bray's jury.) Prosecutors attached
> two special circumstances to the defendants' indictments or first-degree
> murder and conspiracy to commit murder: (1) the murder was intentional
> and carried out for financial gain (2) Bray killed the victim while
> lying in wait. If convicted of first-degree murder under special
> circumstances, Bray and Ayers faced life in prison without parole. If
> found guilty of murder without special circumstances, they faced
> sentences ranging between 25 years-to-life in prison. Prosecutors chose
> not to seek the death penalty against the defendants because neither of
> them have prior criminal records.
>
> The Verdicts
>
> On Feb. 5, 1998, Amber Bray was found guilty of first-degree murder and
> conspiracy to commit murder. The next day, Jeffrey Ayers also was
> convicted of the same charges. Both were also found guilty of committing
> the crimes under special circumstances and under state law, were
> automatically sent to prison for the rest of their lives.
> --
> Kathy E
> "I can only please one person a day, today is NOT your day, and tomorrow
> isn't looking too good for you either"
> http://members.delphi.com/kathylaw/ Law & Issues Mailing List
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