Wife killer gets life in prison without parole

By Matt Pordum (contact)

Thursday, July 28, 2005 | 9:54 a.m.

A prosecutor said Wednesday that finally after roughly three years and five months of waiting, justice has been served to David Ruffa in the killing of his estranged wife.

A District Court jury Wednesday sentenced Ruffa to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the killing of 37-year-old Shao Lei Liu. Her charred body was found in her car in Henderson in February 2002.

Deputy District Attorney Linda Lewis said Ruffa "deserved what was coming to him."

Lewis said she was "just so elated for the victim's family finally being served a sense of justice after three years and five months of waiting" after the prosecutor thanked several members of the jury that both convicted and sentenced Ruffa.

One member of the jury, who wished to remain anonymous, said both the guilty and penalty phase of the trial was "very heated."

The male juror said that after closing arguments last week in the guilt phase, an initial vote found the jury deadlocked at six members in favor of guilty and six in favor of a not-guilty verdict.

After everyone voiced their positions, however, that vote soon became unanimous for guilt. Much of the debate centered on whether Ruffa had committed first- or second-degree murder.

In the penalty phase, the juror said, the vote was nine in favor of life without parole, two in favor of life with the possibility of parole after 10 years and one undecided juror. They called it a night at 8:30 Tuesday.

Once returning Wednesday morning, every juror was allowed to air their opinions, and by 11 a.m. they unanimously agreed that Ruffa's fate should not include a chance at parole.

Deputy Special Public Defender Ivette Maningo said she was first "very surprised with the guilty verdict. I think a lot of people were."

She said she believed the sentencing "was harsh."

Maningo said she could not understand how the jury convicted Ruffa despite the fact that no physical or DNA evidence or eyewitnesses pointed to Ruffa as the killer.

The only identifiable DNA evidence in the case was found under Liu's fingernails and was determined not to be Ruffa's. The source of that DNA remains unknown.

Maningo said a motion for a new trial claiming prosecutorial misconduct and conflicting and insufficient evidence had already been filed with Pavlikowski.

The judge is scheduled to hear arguments on Aug. 1.

Maningo said the prosecutorial misconduct charge stems from the testimony of a Henderson Police DNA expert, the victim's divorce attorney and a married couple who worked with the victim.

The special pubic defender alleges the prosecutors failed to adequately instruct the four witnesses as to what they could and couldn't testify to, which led to the jury hearing information that unfairly prejudiced Ruffa.

About the claim of conflicting and insufficient evidence, Maningo said the unknown DNA, the fact the majority of evidence impounded showed no link to Ruffa and eyewitness accounts that excluded Ruffa as being the man seen exiting the car Liu was found in added up to a new trial.

Senior District Judge Joseph Pavlikowski will sentence Ruffa on the kidnapping and arson convictions at a later date.