By Brian Kelly
Herald Writer
COUPEVILLE — In great detail, Linda Miley remembered grabbing a pickle jar and bashing it against her husband’s head during an argument in the kitchen of their Mississippi home roughly 30 years ago.
"The top flew off and pickles went everywhere," Miley said.
But Miley’s memory was muddy when asked about the events following the morning her boyfriend, Jack J. Pearson, was found dead in December 1997 in the Camano Island home they shared.
Miley, 58, is accused of shooting Pearson five times with a .38-caliber pistol, then stealing $19,500 from his safe after Pearson ended their six-year relationship and told her to move out and get a job.
Her trial for first-degree murder started Nov. 6. Island County prosecutor Greg Banks told jurors that Miley murdered Pearson for revenge after she felt betrayed that he was ending their relationship.
Banks called 19 witnesses before the state rested its case Monday.
Thirteen were detectives or deputies who talked to Miley after the murder, or crime lab specialists who had examined evidence culled from the Victorian-style house on Vesper Way that Pearson and Miley called home. The prosecution leaned heavily on physical evidence left at the scene, as well as Miley’s recorded statements to police.
Tom Pacher, Miley’s attorney, began his defense this week by putting Miley on the stand.
She talked about her life in Mississippi — a failed and abusive marriage to a stepbrother that ended with Miley fleeing in fear in 1990 to Washington, where her daughter lived.
Under cross-examination, however, Miley said her marriage had been mostly good, and the couple’s disagreements usually centered on the discipline of their children or problems with their air compressor repair business.
The physical abuse occurred in the first few years of the marriage, and ended after the pickle jar incident and when Miley warned her husband that he better not go to sleep if the harsh discipline of their three children continued.
Miley’s memory was not as strong when asked about the morning of Pearson’s murder. She said she couldn’t remember talking to police or others, or the ambulance ride to the hospital in Mount Vernon.
And the days and weeks that followed were also lost in vague dreams and misty memories. Miley frequently cited trouble with dates and details.
In earlier testimony, Pearson’s neighbor recalled how Miley came pounding on a sliding glass bedroom door the morning of the murder, babbling about a masked intruder. On Tuesday, Miley said she remembered that statement as a dream she had at the hospital.
Miley’s testimony also contrasted greatly with videotape and audiotape confessions that were played earlier in court, where she detailed hitting Pearson over the head and then shooting him after he went to care for his wound.
Miley later told investigators she killed Pearson in self-defense, afraid that he would rape her because he had forced sex on her the day before.
During cross-examination Tuesday afternoon, Miley testified that Pearson had never been violent in their relationship. He had never forced sex on her before, she said.
The jury of 15 watched Miley intently. Each had a notepad, and many took notes.
Bill Pearson, one of the victim’s eight children, has sat through every day of the trial with his sister, Linda St. Jean. They declined to comment on Miley’s testimony, but praised the work of the prosecutor’s office.
Island County’s previous prosecutor had decided against bringing the case to trial.
Later this week, Miley’s attorney is expected to call mental health experts to talk about Miley’s condition at the time of Pearson’s death.
The trial will resume after the Thanksgiving break. Closing arguments may come as soon as next week.
If Miley is found guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree theft, she could face 32 years in prison.
You can call Herald Writer Brian Kelly at 425-339-3422 or send e-mail to kelly@heraldnet.com.
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