Carno insists she’s innocent at sentencing

Erica D. Johnson

Friday, March 12, 2004 | 10:44 a.m.

Moments before she was to be sentenced Thursday to life in prison for plotting her husband's death, a weeping Susanne Carno maintained her innocence, calling her conviction "unfair, unjust and most unmerciful."

Reading a letter addressed to the court, she proclaimed her love for 36-year-old Richard Carno, who was found dead in his car at a Las Vegas trailer park in January 2002.

Jurors convicted Susanne Carno, 35, and her brother, John Ray, 37, of first-degree murder after a trial, but on Thursday, Carno, dressed in blue jail garb, said she had nothing to do with the slaying.

"A scapegoat was needed and I was available," she said, crying. "I did not do this crime."

"You can't take my husband from me. You can't take my children from me. We're united in our hearts."

Carno and Ray each were sentenced to two consecutive life sentences and will be eligible for parole after 40 years, the result of a sentencing negotiation in which the siblings avoided a potential death sentence. As part of the deal, they agreed to waive their appeal rights.

The sentence came during an unconventional hearing before District Judge Joseph Bonaventure, in which several people on both sides of the case took the witness stand in emotional testimony.

Speakers included Richard Carno's mother and stepfather, as well as Susanne Carno's father, daughter and ex-husband, who also asked to address the court. Defendants' family members generally are not allowed to speak at sentencings.

Ray declined to take the stand, but according to portions of a pre-sentencing document read by Bonaventure and prosecutor David Schwartz, he apparently maintains his innocence as well.

"Were it not for illegal drugs, Mr. Carno would still be alive," the document says.

Ray's lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Joe Abood, said his client denies making that statement.

Authorities say Carno arranged the killing to collect on a $500,000 life insurance policy. They said Ray was promised $50,000.

But Carno said Thursday that trial testimony detailing her eccentric personality led to her conviction. Several witnesses said Carno made up graphic stories about her husband's death months before it actually happened.

"Richard was the first person who made me feel safe and secure," Carno said, flanked by her attorney, Deputy Special Public Defender Alzora Jackson. "He knew I was an odd duck, as he put it.

"He knew that at times, I loathed to be touched and had to be in dark corners to feel safe."

Prosecutors said Carno ordered her brother to carry out her plan in a series of e-mails that discussed the building of a bookshelf. Prosecutors said the bookshelf was a code word for murder.

In her letter Carno said she asked her estranged brother to build the shelf because she wanted to welcome him back into the family.

"What does that prove?" she asked. "The only thing that was proven is that I was strange."

Richard Carno's mother, Mary Ellen Hodder, said she believes jurors returned the correct verdict.

When Richard's body was found, Hodder said, she initially was furious with Ray, whom she believed was her son's sole killer. That was before she knew the entire story, Hodder said.

"I must admit, I had hatred in my heart for him," she said. "It appears he's just another one of Susanne's pawns."

Hodder described Carno as conniving and manipulating. Even from behind bars, Carno continues to manipulate visitation for the 3-year-old boy the couple adopted as an infant, Hodder said.

"I don't feel Susanne should have any parental rights," she said. "She gave up those rights the day Richard was murdered."

Several friends and family members apparently are still in Carno's corner, however. A half dozen supporters asked to address the court during the hearing and said Carno was not guilty.

"I just think this trial was unfair. My mom loved my stepdad and still does," Carno's 18-year-old daughter, Malorie Ray, said before breaking into tears and leaving the witness stand.

Chris Lester, Carno's ex-husband, said Susanne and Richard Carno's marriage was a happy one, much better than his own marriage to Susanne.

If Carno were capable of murder, she would have arranged to kill Lester years ago, Lester said.

"She had a reason to kill me," he said. "Our relationship was not good."