Accused wife killer Lawrence Edward May is going back to a court-appointed attorney to handle what might be the county's next capital murder trial after his attorney became a judge.
May, 49, lost the attorney hired by his family when Cliff Cretan was appointed to the judge's bench earlier this month. Cretan helped May and his family consider the legal options and was expected to identify the new lawyer next month. Instead, the decision came early and yesterday May asked that the court find a new attorney for him.
The Daly City man is charged with first-degree murder plus the special allegation of lying in wait for his estranged wife, Sharen. Prosecutors claim May fatally stabbed her with a pair of scissors after a failed mediation session and was still clutching her bleeding body when police arrived March 28.
Cretan handled the case from early on and expects May's new attorney will need some time to catch up before setting a trial date. Capital cases in particular often are considered more complex to prepare. District Attorney Jim Fox has not decided yet whether to seek death or life in prison without parole.
May has already pleaded not guilty to the charges but ordered to stand trial after a preliminary hearing on the evidence. Sharen May, 40, was pronounced dead at the scene after police and paramedics found her bleeding profusely in the office building on Borel Avenue. The couple were attending a court-ordered mediation session as part of their divorce proceedings but Lawrence May allegedly left 15 minutes before his wife. Prosecutors claim he waited for his wife at the elevator and ambushed her with the scissors. He was discovered holding his wife and apologizing.
Sharen May filed for divorce from her husband of 13 years and the couple was trying to arrange custody of their three young children.
May remains in custody on no-bail status. He returns to court Jan. 13 to set dates for a pre-trial conference and jury trial.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.