Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 24, 1990 TAG: 9007240439
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Short
A Circuit Court jury on Monday convicted Weller, 40, for the March 1989 slaying of Thelma Baker in her Chesapeake home.
The panel recommended the maximum penalties for each of the related charges on which Weller was convicted: life in prison for the robbery of five of Baker's rings, life for the arson of her home and six years for using a firearm in a felony.
A hearing was to be held today so the jury could hear evidence and arguments before deciding whether to sentence Weller to life in prison or death in the state's electric chair on the capital-murder conviction.
Witnesses testified that Weller, a part-time handyman for Baker, had a falling out with the woman in January 1989 after she excluded him from her will.
The widow, a nationally known show-dog breeder and judge, was killed in a fire that destroyed her home. An autopsy later revealed she had been shot three times before she died.
by CNB