Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 26, 1993 TAG: 9310260214
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Debra S. Roach, who was charged with malicious wounding and using a firearm to commit a felony, says the shooting happened as she tried to push a gun away from her husband, who was upset over her plans to divorce him.
A jury of 11 men and one women acquitted Debra Roach, 36, of the charges after deliberating for less than two hours. She cried when the verdicts were read, then embraced family members and supporters as her husband's friends and family looked on quietly.
Clarence "Danny" Roach, 37, was shot once in the head at about 6:30 a.m. on Christmas.
A bullet from a .380-caliber automatic handgun struck Roach on the left side of his head beneath the temple. He spent several days in a hospital. A large circular indentation is still visible on his left cheek.
Debra Roach was not charged until Jan. 5 because authorities were investigating the two versions of the shooting.
In Montgomery County Circuit Court on Monday, Danny Roach testified he ran to a neighbor's house to call for help because his wife took the phone away from him when he tried to dial 911.
But Debra Roach, a licensed practical nurse, told the jury she took the phone away only because she wasn't sure her husband would be able to speak. The jurors heard a tape-recording of Debra Roach's call to a Montgomery County emergency dispatcher, in which she told the dispatcher her husband had shot himself.
Tina Martin, the dispatcher, testified that Debra Roach sounded hysterical. In the recording, Debra Roach can be heard yelling "Why did you do this?"
But Roach told his neighbors, Johnny and Connie Love, that his wife had shot him.
Danny Roach testified his wife had asked him to buy the gun for her because she worked nights and traveled alone and was fearful of being raped.
Debra Roach testified that it was her husband's idea to buy the gun. She characterized him as a jealous man who denied her extended visits with her family in Charlottesville for reunions or funerals. She said he was upset because he found a receipt for money she had paid to a lawyer as a retainer so that divorce proceedings could begin.
Sgt. Curtis Cook of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office testified that Debra Roach told him she had asked for a divorce in October and that the shooting came after her husband found the receipt from the lawyer.
Debra Roach testified she and her husband argued over their two children and her proposal to divide the household property and bills.
"He told me that I'd never take the kids away from him."
Commonwealth's Attorney Phil Keith told the jury the shooting was the result of a woman who was unhappy in her marriage and wanted to leave but also wanted the financial security Danny Roach's insurance would provide.
Debra Roach countered that the insurance policies were small and some would not pay if her husband died of a suicide or in any instance where a gun was used.
She testified she did not plan to shoot and kill her husband.
"No, because my kids would have really lost out," she said.
by CNB