Woman who killed husband gets life

Kim Smith

Thursday, March 23, 2000 | 11:14 a.m.

A 36-year-old woman who chased down her estranged husband and then shot him within sight of a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper was deemed competent Monday and sentenced Wednesday.

Chief District Judge Lee Gates sentenced Linda Carbary to life in prison for the March 1997 death of her husband, Jeffery Charles Carbary, 34, said Ed Kane, deputy district attorney. She received a second life sentence because a deadly weapon was used in the commission of the crime.

Kane said Carbary will not be eligible for parole for 40 years.

Carbary was convicted in May 1998, but her sentencing was pushed off at least twice because of concerns about her mental state. Gates, however, decided Monday that she could be sentenced after reading reports from three mental health experts.

According to police, Carbary was trying to get back together with her husband when they met for dinner at Dona Maria's on Craig Road on March 15, 1997. She became upset when he refused her request and she fired at him in the restaurant parking lot.

Police said Jeffery Carbary fled in his car, drove to Interstate 15 near Cheyenne Avenue and stopped 30 feet behind a trooper who was ticketing a speeder.

Linda Carbary, who had followed her husband, got out of her car, went up to his vehicle and shot him once in the head.

Trooper Scott Majewski, who had been keeping an eye on the couple, thought they were just talking because neither vehicle had flashers on. He didn't realize something was wrong until he heard the gunshot.

Majewski drew his weapon, seized Carbary's gun and kept her at the scene until backup arrived.

A jury rejected the defense attorney's contention that drugs and alcohol sent Carbary into an uncontrollable rage and that there had been instances of abuse during the couple's marriage.

Prosecutors told jurors that Carbary had vowed to kill her husband and bragged about it afterward.

Kim Smith covers courts for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-2321 or by e-mail at kimberly@lasvegassun.com.