Sunday, May 18, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
A Washoe District Court jury deliberated over parts of two days before returning a not guilty verdict Friday for Tressie Blue Word, 20, described by her lawyer as a world-class kayaker.
Word cried, turned and hugged defense lawyer John Ohlson after the jury foreman read the verdict. She had been charged in the February 1996 shooting death of Carter Dale Erben, 48.
"I'm just really happy," Word said afterward. "(My goals) now are to get into school really heavily and continue kayaking. To become an awesome triathlete."
Word, who's studying to become a mechanical engineer, took advantage of warm weather to go kayaking only hours after the verdict was announced.
Word gave conflicting stories concerning Erben's death. A basic theme is that he committed suicide after she returned to his Lemmon Valley home only two weeks after they broke off their relationship.
The fact she wasn't always truthful with investigators is part of the reason she was charged with murder, Word said.
Deputy District Attorney Egan Walker called it a tough case with evidence that suggested both murder and suicide.
But Ohlson said the evidence clearly supported a suicide.
"We thought ... the evidence broke our way from beginning to the end," Ohlson said.
Word originally had pleaded no contest to manslaughter, but Judge Mills Lane allowed her to withdraw the plea in December and go to trial.
Word became dissatisfied with the plea bargan after the Nevada Division of Parole and Probation recommended four years in prison, a prosecutor said.
archive
