A Pomona Superior Court jury convicted drunk driver Keith Cook on Friday in the death of Jadine Russell, rejecting the Azusa auto mechanic's claim that his victim caused her own demise when she declined a blood transfusion for religious reasons.
After three full days of deliberation, the jury found Cook guilty of gross vehicular manslaughter for his reckless and drunken trip down Sierra Madre Avenue last March, which ended with the collision that killed the 55-year-old mother of five, a devout Jehovah's Witness.
Cook was led from the courtroom in handcuffs, but with at least a partial reprieve. The jury also found him not guilty of murder. Along with guilty verdicts on two drunk driving charges, the mixed verdict could mean a substantially reduced sentence for the 32-year-old defendant.
Cook bowed his head somberly after the verdicts, while his fiancee and ex-wife wept. Across an aisle, three of Russell's daughters and several friends also cried.
The verdicts came at the end of a 10-day trial that provoked strong emotions everywhere from the courtroom to the talk radio airwaves, with myriad debates about causation, religion and the law.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Larry Larson called the jury's verdicts "just and reasonable." Defense attorney Charles Unger said he too was pleased, since the murder acquittal meant his client would do considerably less time in prison.
In a novel defense, Cook's lawyers had said that Russell had to take responsibility for her own death. Her trauma surgeon from County-USC Medical Center and two medical experts testified that she probably would have lived had she violated her beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness and taken blood.
"Jadine made her choice and she paid for it. She died," said James Russell, the victim's husband, after the verdict. "But should he not be held accountable for what he did? Now it has been noted and proved that he was responsible for her death."
Russell said his family's emotional recovery can now begin.
"The noise is over," Russell said. "Now, we have to go home and go on. It's what Jadine would have done. She would have gone on and continued her lifestyle as a faithful, active, loyal Witness of Jehovah."
The trial not only sent James and Katherine Cook's son to prison; it also emptied their bank accounts as they paid for his defense, family members said. The Cooks left court quickly, without commenting.
