Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 11, 1993 TAG: 9311110192
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MANASSAS LENGTH: Medium
The jury of nine women and three men deliberated about four hours before returning its verdict.
Bobbitt jumped to his feet and hugged his lawyer, Gregory Murphy. Bobbitt buried his face in Murphy's shoulder as his aunt, Marilyn Biro, shouted, "Oh Lord, thank you."
"I'm thankful to the jury. They believed me," Bobbitt said. "I just want to get on with my life."
Bobbitt's wife, Lorena Bobbitt, said she sliced off his penis in retaliation for an alleged attack June 23.
The jury did not comment on its verdict at the end of the three-day trial, which attracted international media attention, but juror William Vogt said later that "the proof just didn't exist for the majority of us."
Murphy said he hoped the verdict didn't send a signal to battered spouses that they can't get justice.
"I look forward to the day when Lorena Bobbitt is not in the lexicon of the feminist movement, because she's not telling the truth," Murphy said.
Kim Gandy, executive vice president of the National Organization for Women, said, "Lorena Bobbitt lost the battle but in the process raised issues that got the attention of the whole country focused on marital rape and domestic violence."
Prosecutor Paul B. Ebert said after the trial that he brought the charge against John Bobbitt because "I believed her and I didn't believe him."
Lorena Bobbitt's employer and friend, Janna Bassuti, said Lorena Bobbitt would have no comment on the verdict.
Murphy tried to show throughout the trial that Lorena Bobbitt was jealous of her husband's associations with other women. Murphy said she did not want the marriage to end, although the couple already were planning a divorce.
But Ebert said in closing arguments that "if jealousy was her motive, she'd have cut his throat."
She "struck out at the very thing that harmed her, the thing that hurt, and she severed it," Ebert said.
Lorena Bobbitt, 24, will be tried Nov. 29 on a malicious wounding charge. Ebert said John Bobbitt's acquittal will have no bearing on Lorena Bobbitt's trial, which he will prosecute.
Ebert said he would like to use Lorena Bobbitt's testimony at her trial but said the decision will rest with the judge.
In closing arguments, both the prosecution and defense pointed to inconsistencies in the couple's stories.
Murphy listed a half-dozen points where Lorena Bobbitt's testimony contradicted that of other witnesses or her previous statements.
He said Lorena Bobbitt gave conflicting statements about where she was on several days preceding the alleged attack, and he said he believes Lorena Bobbitt took scissors to her underwear to make it appear it was ripped off. A Virginia Crime Lab scientist testified the tear appeared to come from force, but an expert witness for the defense said he believed the panties were cut.
"Any of the inconsistencies is not enough to convict," Murphy said. "Altogether, it's overwhelming."
Lorena Bobbitt concocted a story of sexual abuse because she was angry over the dissolution of the four-year marriage, Murphy said. He reminded jurors that a neighbor had testified Lorena Bobbitt professed love for her husband only days before the attack.
In his instructions to the jury, Prince William County Circuit Judge LeRoy F. Millette said if Lorena Bobbitt consented to sex, the charge against her husband was invalid.
John Bobbitt was charged with marital sexual assault, not rape, because under Virginia law, the latter charge only applies to couples living apart or if the victim is seriously physically injured.
by CNB