ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 3, 1996 TAG: 9605030068
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
Scotty Wayne Overby went on a mental meltdown when his wife left him last summer, Overby's stepfather testified Thursday.
But Wendell Collins and other members of Overby's family say they never suspected his severe depression over the separation would lead him to take Sheila Ann Stafford's life.
Stafford, 27, was found dead Aug. 13 in a Shawsville trailer where Overby was staying. Her body had been mutilated, and she had been sexually assaulted. An obscenity and other comments were written on her body, and she had been urinated on.
Overby told investigators he flew into a rage after she told him she had been seeing another man and thought she might be pregnant. The prosecutor doubts Stafford made those comments, but says Overby was bent on making sure that if he couldn't have her, no one else would.
Overby was convicted of capital murder, rape and sexual penetration by object Thursday. He had entered no-contest pleas Tuesday after calling off a planned jury trial. He had previously pleaded guilty to defiling a corpse.
Psychologists and family members told Montgomery County Circuit Judge Ray Grubbs that Overby sought treatment for his depression and alcoholism and perked up when Stafford - ignoring a restraining order she had obtained against him - visited him and spoke of a possible reconciliation.
Grubbs will have to decide whether to sentence Overby to life in prison or the death penalty.
Dr. Robert Hart, a clinical psychologist at the Medical College of Virginia, testified that Overby, 28, has "very clear evidence of mild brain dysfunction."
Hart said Overby had a history of memory problems brought on by two serious head injuries, the most recent at age 23. Family members told Hart that Overby became given to sudden rage over small things, and once put his fist through a malfunctioning television.
Hart said Overby's reaction when Stafford told him she was seeing someone else was an example of "instant rage" where he lacked the ability to deal more appropriately with his anger.
Randy Thomas, an MCV licensed psychologist, said Overby's family members told him of an abusive father who committed suicide in 1977. Overby developed a need to please and had many acquaintances but few true friends. When he met Stafford, he formed an instant attachment.
"He liked her because she had a real thick [Southern] accent," Thomas said, drawing smiles from Stafford's family who nodded their heads, remembering her.
When Stafford unexpectedly left him, then bobbed in and out of his life for two months, Overby's life spun out of control into depression, suicide attempts and finally to the night he took her life, Thomas said.
Mortified, Thomas said, Overby confessed to investigators until he put himself on the path to the death penalty. Defense lawyers contend Overby did not rape his wife, but killed her after the two had consensual sex then argued.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Peggy Frank, assistant commonwealth's attorney, contends there was torture and vileness in Overby's actions - evidenced by the items used to choke her to death, including an alarm clock cord and a board, and the mutilation of her nose and breasts.
Overby and his mother are expected to testify this morning. Then, Frank may put on rebuttal and victim-impact statements from Stafford's family.
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