Severson gets life without parole; says he's innocent

Larry Severson continued to profess his innocence prior to Judge Mike Wetherell sentencing him last week to life without parole for the murder of his wife, Mary, on Feb. 15, 2002.

Severson had been convicted last November of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, and for attempting to poison her by placing Drano in some fat-blocker pills she had been taking.

Although it was never definitively proved whether Severson killed his wife by suffocating her, or poisoning her the night after they had celebrated Valentine's Day with a dinner together, Judge Wetherell, noting he agreed with the jury's verdict, said that "it does not matter if death is by suffocation or poisoning or a combination of both." Wetherell also sentenced Severson to five years in prison, to be served concurrently, on the attempted poisoning charge, with credit for 885 days served in the Elmore County jail since his arrest.

Wetherell pointed out that for the jury to find the defendant guilty of first degree murder it required that they find that Severson had acted with malice and premeditation.

Despite Severson's profession of innocence in his statements to the court during last Wednesday's sentencing hearing, Wetherell point out that, while he would "concede to the defense that a lack of remorse is appropriate," if the defendant did not admit guilt, to sentence him to something other than life without parole "would be to effectively set aside the decision of the jury and to believe that every witness except the defendant had either lied or shaded the truth."

Since the death penalty had been taken off the table prior to the trial, life without parole was the worst sentence Severson could receive.

Just prior to sentencing, Severson told the court, "I had nothing to do with anything to do with Mary's death. When Mary died a part of me died as well.

"I can't get closure because nobody showed how she died. I'll continue to work to find the cause of Mary's death," he said. "I loved her. Very much."

During the trial, the prosecution had contended that Severson murdered his wife, with whom he had been reconciled for only two months after a separation of several months, in order to collect a $200,000 insurance policy on her and because he was having an affair with a younger woman, Jennifer Watkins. He had asked Watkins to marry him during the time he and Mary had been separated.

Severson showed no emotion during sentencing, but turned and glared at the audience, composed mainly of Mary's family and friends, as he was led away in handcuffs from the courtroom.

There were tears and relief on the faces of Mary's family and friends as the sentence was announced, but no real joy.

"Thank God, it's over," said Mary's mother, Carol Diaz. "I'm going home now (to Colorado) with her cremains and her memory in my heart."

Prosecutor Aaron Bazzoli noted after the sentencing that "there is nothing we can do to bring back Mary, but this gave her memory and life a sense of justice."

Prior to sentencing the court heard impact statements from Mary's family.

Her sister, Stacy Morford, told the court that "the last three years have been hell on earth.... Mary's murder took my happiness away."

She said the case had affected both her and her 11-year-old daughter "who has nightmares that Larry is hurting someone else," and contended that if Severson were ever allowed to go free he would probably kill again.

Sister Gaylin Ruiz, who read a statement from Mary's father, as well as offering her own testimony, said that "a life sentence is too weak for this low-life scum. He might have taken her body, but her memories and spirit are with her family."

Ernie Diaz, Mary's stepfather, told the court that "what he had done completely ruined our family."

And Marie Bray, Mary's oldest sister, said that with Mary's death their mother "had lost her soulmate," and contended that Larry had murdered her sister "for money and the ability to move on to the next target.

"How does it feel," she asked Severson, "to have your fate in someone else's hands?"

The audience applauded at that point, but Wetherell cut the demonstration short, admonishing the courtroom that "this is not a theatre. Control your emotions."

But if was hard to control the emotions of Carol Diaz when she took the stand. At times tearful, and at other times speaking in a voice of controlled anger, Diaz described the kindness and caring nature of her daughter, saying "Mary will always be an inspiration to all of us.... Mary wasn't just my daughter, she was my best friend.

"She was a loving mother and wife (who was) looking forward to seeing (her son) Michael graduate from high school.

"But because of you, Larry," she said, looking directly at the defendant, "she couldn't.

"You betrayed her in the worst way any person can -- by murder."

She described his efforts to block her from obtaining her daughter's cremains, and to involve other family members "in your lies and deceit."

"I know in my heart what you did to Mary. Does it make you feel like a man? I wonder if you enjoyed watching her die, and then, when she didn't die fast enough, you suffocated her.

"She even baked a cake for you for Valentine's Day, while you were planning her last supper.

"I know how much Mary loved you. I never trusted you... but I let Mary's trust of you get in the way of reality.

"You are a gutless coward," she told Severson. "If you were a man, you would own up to what you did."

In his closing arguments to the court, Bazzoli noted that Severson "has denied all accountability. He has said this was all a game" concocted by law enforcement at the prosecutor's office. "On the contrary, your honor, a grand jury indicted him, 12 jurors sat six weeks, heard 50 witnesses and found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of premeditation.

"This had been cooked up over weeks," Bazzoli said, noting the efforts Severson had made to poison his wife over the course of at least a month by putting Drano in her weight-loss pills. "This shows a cold, calculated and methodical person." When that didn't kill her, he overdosed her on sleeping pills Valentine's Day night, and then suffocated her.

Bazzoli said Severson had begun a "smear campaign" to discredit his wife and make it appear she had been poisoning herself to win money from the drug company to send her son to college, then tried to make people believe that she had "accidentally swallowed" 20 sleeping pills the night of her death.

Describing Severson as a man with a "manipulative mind," Bazzoli said that "the planning, the preparation, the cold-heartedness of it all... this is cold-blooded, calculated murder."

He described the lengthy list of inconsistent lies Severson had told others about Mary's condition and their relationship, said that within "a few short week's after his wife's death he was out cruising for chicks," because he wanted "a younger, prettier model."

He presented himself as a grieving husband to some people while dating other young women.

"He planned his wife's murder for monetary gain and physical pleasure.

"How," he asked the court, "can her family go forward if there is any possibility of Larry Severson walking the streets again.

"Larry Severson has earned, through his life and his actions, life without the possibility of parole."

Rob Lewis, who took over as Severson's defense counsel after his conviction, said Larry's life and lack of remorse had been incorrectly stated.

He called Severson's original lawyer, Jay Clark to the stand, who told the court that "I'm one who has listened to Larry... crying and sobbing over his wife's death."

He said Severson's actions after his wife's death were due to shock, and said that eyewitnesses had seen Mary altering the pills herself, information he contended he gave the public defender's office (but which was not presented at trial).

Calling Severson's conviction a travesty of justice, Clark contended he had talked to some of the jurors who told him that they had doubts about Severson's guilt.

Lewis also presented evidence that Severson had been a model prisoner while in the Elmore County jail and even had helped save a deputy who had been attacked by an inmate.

Lewis said that Severson "comes before this court maintaining his innocence.

"To the court (and) the family of the decedent, he does care. He's very sad about Mary's passing."

He said Severson's lack of emotion during the trial reflected the fact that "Larry is a very reserved, calm individual and doesn't exhibit a lot of outward emotions.

"This lack of remorse, of responsibility, shouldn't be confused with a lack of caring."

The short grieving period, he said, was simply a fact that "many people grieve in many ways.

"His womanizing over the years has led people not to trust him, but that doesn't make him a killer," and, Lewis noted, Severson had no prior contacts with law enforcement and no prior convictions. He is not, Lewis said, "a career criminal."

He said, in asking for a lighter sentence, that Severson did not have any drug or alcohol problems, was employable, and has "redeeming social qualities.... He is unlikely to commit a crime if paroled in the future," saying that death in prison was not appropriate and Severson could be released back into society.

Lewis requested no more than the mandatory 10-year sentence, or at worst, an indeterminate life sentence (which can be converted to years and then result in eventual parole).

"This was a very close case," Lewis said, "and I'm asking that you err on the side of caution, that just maybe, the jury got it wrong."

But Wetherell disagreed, saying "the evidence was sufficient to find the defendant guilty as charged." Wetherell then imposed the maximum sentence possible and further ordered that Severson submit a DNA sample to the state.

Severson has 42 days to appeal his conviction and sentence to the state Supreme Court. Such appeals are usually routinely done.