Judge to replace jury in sentencing West in mother’s death

Kim Smith

Tuesday, July 24, 2001 | 8:50 a.m.

The attorneys in the Brookey West case have agreed to allow District Judge Donald Mosley to sentence her instead of the jury that convicted her of first-degree murder.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Frank Coumou said scheduling problems with his witnesses prompted him to agree with the defense's request to allow Mosley to sentence West.

West was convicted Thursday in the February 1998 death of her mother, Christine Smith, 64. Jurors were scheduled today to begin hearing testimony in the punishment phase of her trial, but instead Mosley will schedule a sentencing hearing.

Mosley will have to decide whether West should serve a life sentence with or without the possibility of parole or a 20 to 50-year sentence. Instead of hearing from witnesses as the jurors would have done, Mosley will base his decision on the arguments of the attorneys and with input from the Department of Parole and Probation.

Deputy Public Defender Scott Coffee said he prefers that Mosley sentence West, 46.

"The state is going to allege some things about her background that the judge will be able to put into better perspective than a jury might be able to do," Coffee said.

The state is expected to allege that West is a suspect in the 1994 death of her husband, Howard St. John, in California, that she worships Satan and that she attacked her stepmother with a stun gun in 1996.

Despite the fact that medical experts could not determine what killed Smith, prosecutors were able to convince jurors that West killed her mother and sealed her remains in a trash can.

The motive, Coumou and fellow prosecutor Scott Mitchell argued, was Smith's monthly Social Security check.

Smith's remains were found in February with a plastic bag around her mouth and nose.

Coffee said he intends to appeal the verdict on the grounds that the state didn't prove Smith was murdered.