Sun, Jul 05, 2009

Tucson Region

Shotgun-slaying case brings manslaughter conviction

The Associated Press
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.09.2008
SIERRA VISTA — A teen-ager has been found guilty in Bisbee of manslaughter in the death of a 16-year-old who was shot in the face with a 12-gauge shotgun.
Prosecutor Roger Contreras said the teens were tossing the shotgun around when the shooting happened in October 2007 in Hereford.
Nicholas Murphy, 18, had faced a second-degree murder charge in the death of Joshua Olson, but the jurors convicted him of the lesser crime of manslaughter on Friday.
Defense attorney Ruben Teran called the incident an accident.
Murphy had pleaded guilty in an agreement in late May to a lesser charge of recklessly causing the death. But a judge rejected the plea deal because Murphy wrote a letter to the victim's family stating he was innocent.
Manslaughter carries a penalty of between seven and 21 years in prison.