Jury: Man guilty of negligent homicide in wife's death

A jury on Monday found a Great Falls mechanic guilty of negligently killing his wife in 2016 when he forcefully tried to subdue her from fighting him. 

Roy Edward Scott was convicted of the alternative charge in the case, negligent homicide, at the end of a six-day trial. The jury deliberated for almost three hours on Monday over the two possible charges, negligent or deliberate homicide. They returned with a verdict around 1:45 Monday afternoon.

In March 2016, Scott told Great Falls police he had "bear hugged" Stephanie Wells in attempt to stop her from attacking him at the end of a night of drinking. Wells' blood alcohol content was 0.16 percent after she died; Scott's was below 0.8, although not measured until several hours after the incident ended. 

However, medical examiners testified during the trial that Wells died from compression to one side of her neck. Prosecutors argued Scott had taken enough drunken abuse from Wells; everyone involved said it was common for the two to fight after drinking. Scott's public defender argued that this was not an attempt to kill Wells, but to keep her contained while she was drunk and violent. 

"We're not saying this is pretty. We're not saying this is fun. This is how it had to be handled." said Vince Van Der Hagen, Scott's public defender. "This was a freak event, there is no other explanation for it." 

Chief Criminal Deputy County Attorney Susan Weber said during closing arguments that there were differences between previous attempts to subdue Wells and the night she died. During similar incidents, Scott had been able to text others as he restrained her. This time he did not reach out to their son in the other room, as he had in the past. 

"This was a deliberate murder," she said. 

But the jury, after hearing testimony from Scott's son, the medical examiner, police and a few others(Scott did not testify), concluded Wells' death was negligent.

In Montana, negligent homicide carries a possible sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum $50,000 fine. 

Scott's sentencing has been set for Jan. 19.