Family reacts to guilty verdict in Scobee case

BRAZIL -- Brian Scobee's family members held hands while they waited for the jury of seven men and five women to announce a guilty verdict in the trial against Lisa Ann Scobee in Clay Circuit Court Thursday evening.

Brian Scobee, a former Putnam County resident, died of injuries he sustained on Nov. 13, 2005 when he fell out of a car being driven by his wife, Lisa Ann, in Clay County.

"This trial has been tough on everyone who is dealing with this tragic death," Lisa's attorney Darrel Felling said. "I probably will recommend an appeal to Lisa, but it will ultimately be her decision. We respect the jury's verdict but don't agree with it."

Deputy Prosecutor Chou-il Lee told jurors there is plenty of evidence to explain why Lisa Ann didn't call 911 on Nov. 13, 2005 -- fear of being arrested for being drunk at the scene of an accident where her husband, Brian Scobee, died from resulting head injuries -- but he didn't have to prove that.

"What did Lisa Ann do to help Brian? She testified that she cradled his head and covered him with a blanket," Lee said, then asking the jury to think about what happens to a man who just fell out of a moving vehicle onto the pavement of County Road 200 West. "Is it reasonable to believe that Brian was not injured?"

Felling has claimed the prosecutions' witnesses disproved key elements necessary to convict his client of failure to stop after accident resulting in death. Felling asked jurors to put themselves in his client's place so they could understand what happened that night.

Judge Trout ordered a pre-sentencing report to be completed no later than 4 p.m., on Thurs., Feb. 5, so that it would be available for the court to review before the sentencing hearing on 10:30 a.m., Mon., Feb 11. Lisa Ann is out on a bond initially set in 2005, which was not readjusted.