THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 3, 1995 TAG: 9505030472
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
The Virginia Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld the first-degree murder conviction of Beverly Ann Monroe in the shooting of Powhatan County millionaire Roger de la Burde.
A jury found that Monroe, who was de la Burde's lover for 11 years, killed him after learning that he was having an affair with a woman who was pregnant with his child.
She was sentenced to 20 years in prison for murder and two years for using a firearm in a felony.
On appeal, Monroe alleged several trial errors and claimed the evidence was insufficient to support a conviction. The appeals court rejected all of her arguments.
``The commonwealth proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the circumstances of time, place, motive, means, opportunity and conduct concurred in linking Beverly Monroe to the crime,'' Judge Sam W. Coleman III wrote in a unanimous opinion.
Monroe gave conflicting statements about whether she was at de la Burde's estate when he was killed on March 4, 1992. He died from a single gunshot wound to the head from his own gun.
Monroe claimed de la Burde committed suicide. However, a forensic expert testified that the location of the wound and the downward trajectory of the shot indicated someone other than de la Burde pulled the trigger.
``Other evidence showed that de la Burde was excited about the possibility of fathering a child, that he was anxious to pursue a real estate deal, and that he was arranging detailed meetings and plans to take place in the days and weeks after he died,'' Coleman wrote.
The court also rejected Monroe's claim that Circuit Judge Thomas V. Warren should not have allowed the testimony of a woman who said Monroe had asked her how she could acquire an unregistered gun.
``The fact that Monroe sought to obtain a deadly weapon that could not be traced to her was relevant to prove that she attempted to obtain the means to inflict death or serious bodily harm to another at a time when she had a reason or motive for wanting to do so,'' Coleman wrote. by CNB