OXNARD, Calif., Feb. 16 (UPI) -- The wife of slain former Olympic shot putter Dave Laut pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder Tuesday in a California court.
Dave Laut was shot multiple times outside his home in Oxnard, Calif., Aug. 27, 2009. Initially, He was thought to have been a robbery victim but detectives Saturday arrested his wife, Jane Laut.
Ron Bamieh, the attorney for Jane Laut, 52, told the Los Angeles Times she shot her husband but claims she killed in self-defense following decades of domestic abuse.
Bamieh said Dave Laut had been intoxicated the night of the shooting and that he threatened to shoot his wife, their 10-year-old son and their two dogs. He said Jane Laut managed to get her husband's gun before she shot him.
Dave Laut, who was 52 when he was killed, won a bronze medal in the shot put at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Friends and former competitors called Dave Laut a man of honor and integrity, the Times said.
