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Dumas found guilty of strangulation, battery

After about three hours of deliberation Wednesday afternoon, a jury returned a verdict of guilty on charges of strangulation of a household member and domestic battery, in a case against Darren Dumas. The charges state he beat Christy Dumas from Sept. 23-26, and impeded her breathing on Sept. 26.

According to court documents, the couple had been arguing beginning Sept. 23, and Darren smashed Christy’s cell phone against the wall and her tablet against her head. Among the injuries Christy received during the incident were to her left upper arm, back, right arm, chest stomach and behind her left ear.

During the opening arguments, prosecuting attorney Jerry Williams told the jury of the Dumas’ relationship, how it went somewhat quickly from their first meeting to their marriage and how Darren did not agree with some of Christy’s choices regarding her lifestyle so he became violent, which led to the September incident and the resultant charges.

Defense attorney Hope Mead painted a different picture, one in which Christy, after being approached by Darren regarding divorce, became adamant and even threatening about keeping their relationship together. Mead also pointed out there were inconsistencies in Christy’s recollection of the events.

During the closing arguments on Wednesday, prosecuting attorney Marcia Bean spoke to Darren’s leaving for work for a long period of time, while Christy stayed in Thermopolis and “kept the home fires burning.” After Darren returned, Bean said, he decided he didn’t want to be married to Christy anymore, and his beating of her was an effort to end their relationship.

Reviewing the evidence presented in the case, Bean said Christy testified she and Dumas met in 2012 and developed a friendship which later turned romantic. Darren invited Christy to move to Thermopolis, where he had family and connections, in 2015; he proposed a few days after she moved.

Christy, Bean said, moved to a town where she had no family or friends, except for Darren, and she volunteered with the HOPE Agency and become friends with others there. Bean further noted others at the HOPE Agency saw Christy was happy to be married, and she even introduced Darren to them.

By September of last year, Bean said, something was going horribly wrong in the relationship and there seemed to be no satisfying him. However, Christy stuck with the marriage because it was important to her. At one point, Christy believed Darren was seeing another woman, something he would later admit to. At the same time Darren became more controlling, taking over things such as their bank accounts and their vehicles.

Bean also recalled the injuries Christy received, stating it was an attempt by Darren to end the marriage — what was most important to her. Bean said there were a number of things Darren could’ve done to end the marriage, such as filing the proper paperwork or obtaining a restraining order, but he instead chose to punch, beat and strangle her.

Bean noted Dr. Jason Weyer’s testimony of the bruises and tenderness he saw on Christy when he examined her after the incidents. The attorney also pointed out Christy did not go to the doctor immediately afterward because she was holding on to the desire to have her marriage work.

Defense attorney Mead said, in reference to Christy, she is a woman with a motive — if she can’t have Darren then nobody will. Mead spoke specifically to letters by Christy to Darren — nearly 10 in three days during the time they were having troubles — threatening she didn’t want to live without him. There was nothing in the letters, Mead said, indicating Christy was under any physical harm from Darren.

Christy’s plan, Mead said, was to try and keep the marriage together. Christy would try to talk with Darren at work, she said, and even crawled through a dog door when he locked her out of their home. Mead later referenced this improvised doorway as something that could’ve caused the marks on her body seen by the doctor.

Christy, Mead said, knew she was going to report the incident because she threatened she would have her way. But in order for the plan to work, Mead said she had to have more players. Among them were those at the HOPE Agency, she noted, as they did not question her story. Dr. Weyer was also a player, Mead said, because he was not present during the incident and had to “believe the tale of a scorned woman.”

Mead further spoke to the inconsistencies in Christy’s stories she told regarding the incident, such as her stating her phone was “smashed” but she was still able to make calls, her contact with other people, her location and body position when the battery and strangulation took place, and whether or not she could still breathe. Though so many people were relying on her story, Mead said, it was inconsistent. She also pointed out these inconsistencies made it hard for the responding police officer to gather the facts.

Mead said it was up to the jury to decide if the prosecution had proven all the elements of the case against Darren beyond all reasonable doubt.

In her rebuttal, Bean said the jury should look at what evidence was presented to them during the trial, and apply reason to it. She stressed the injuries on Christy’s body, shown through evidentiary pictures and testified to by witnesses, are a result of Darren’s actions. She further added Darren knew what he was doing, and didn’t walk away until the damage was done. Christy, Bean said, was not acting as a woman who was scorned, but rather one who was trying to keep her marriage alive.

A date has not been set for Dumas’ sentencing, though he faces a possible five-year prison sentence on the strangulation charge and six months for the battery, as well as a possible $750 fine.

 

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