Murder conviction is upheld

Friday, April 22, 2005 | 10:02 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the murder conviction of Donald Sjolseth, who shot his 72-year-old roommate and business partner in Las Vegas in 2003.

Sjolseth, now 55, maintained it was a mercy killing and his rights were violated when his request to remain silent and his request for a lawyer allegedly was ignored by police.

The court said a transcript of the police interview "reveals Sjolseth was a talkative suspect who never unequivocally or emphatically exercised his right to remain silent or his right to counsel."

It said Sjolseth twice mentioned he did not want to answer any questions, but immediately thereafter continued to talk about the death of his roommate.

District Judge Donald Mosley sentenced Sjolseth to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole for the murder of Harley Peters in a mobile home they shared at the Tropicana Village Mobile Park.

Prosecutors said Sjolseth shot Peters because a pyramid venture in which they were involved had failed.

In other decisions, the state's high court:

-- Rejected the appeal of Rose Crocetti who filed a medical malpractice suit against Dr. Terence Cone, claiming she was permanently injured and wheelchair-dependent after the doctor gave her a shot for pain relief in Las Vegas. She had suffered a work-related injury while employed as a dealer at Caesars Palace in 1991.

-- Ruled against David Morgan who said he was entitled to $640,000 for Clark County's condemnation of a large billboard on Industrial Road. County officials had deemed it a hazard to the flight path leading to and from McCarran International Airport. The FAA said aircraft taking off during the hot summer months were forced to have a reduced weight to clear the sign. After a trial, Morgan received $480,000. Morgan complained that his property value should have been pegged at the 1999 rate when the trial began, rather than the 1994 rate when the suit was filed. The court said that a 1991 law was in effect at the time the suit was filed and Morgan was not entitled to any escalation in his property value by the time the case reached trial.

-- Upheld the findings of a Clark County district court jury that cleared Drs. Mathias Fobi and William Schofield in a medical malpractice case brought by the survivors and estate representatives of Bonnie Robertson. Fobi performed bariatric surgery on the 51-year-old Robertson to reduce her weight in July 1993. Schofield provided the post-surgery care. Robertson died of severe malnutrition in February 1995. The court rejected the claim in the appeal that the findings of the medical screening panel should not have been admitted at trial.