State v. Leaphart

OPINION

DAUGHTREY, Judge.

The defendant, Rose Horne Leaphart, is a physician who was charged with first degree murder in the slaying of her husband, Bobby Leaphart, a fourth-year dental student. At the time of Bobby Leaphart’s death, he and Rose Leaphart had been involved for two years in a marriage marked by a recurring cycle of violence, separation, and reconciliation and punctuated by Bobby’s infidelity and chronic drug use. It was the State’s theory that in desperation the defendant paid two men $10,000 to kill Bobby Leaphart. Defense counsel conceded that Rose Leaphart was present when her…