Authorities in Arizona say a defendant turned his aggression toward his own attorney after a jury announced their guilty verdict against him.
According to the Tucson Daily Star, 28-year-old Chet Jack Wadsworth Maley was convicted on Monday of the 2016 stabbing that left his girlfriend dead.
As witnesses reported at the time of 29-year-old Roxanne Ortiz’s death, the couple had been seen arguing outside of a convenience store before he threw her over a fence, attacked her and fled the scene on foot, as reported by AZ Central.
“Roxanne’s dying breath was, ‘Help me, I’m dying,'” Deputy Pima County Attorney Michelle Chamblee told jurors. “She said it repeatedly as she laid there on the grass bleeding from her neck.”
In court, he reportedly did not take the witness stand in his own defense. But he made a statement shortly after hearing the verdict. Reports indicate he decked his defense attorney before nearby deputies immediately drew their weapons and tackled him to the ground.
Maley reportedly punched Craig Kessler in the side of the head. After struggling to gain the upper hand over the combative man, deputies removed him from the courtroom. Maley was missing when the hearing resumed a few minutes later.
As for his attorney, emergency medical personnel reported to the scene to address his injuries, which included a sizable scrape on his face. The public defender will be replaced by an contract attorney in upcoming hearings related to sentencing for the kidnapping and murder conviction and the assault charges related to the attack in court.
[Featured image: Chet Maley, Tucson Police Department]
