Woman Sentenced to 22 Years For Attempting to Kill Lawyer

Paula Liu
By Paula Liu
October 28, 2019US News
share
Woman Sentenced to 22 Years For Attempting to Kill Lawyer
Patricia Currie. (St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office)

A 78-year-old woman was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Oct. 24 for attempting to kill her lawyer, according to multiple reports.

Patricia Currie from Louisiana attempted to kill her lawyer, Keith Couture, when she showed up in front of her lawyer’s office back in Oct. 2016, according to Nola.

Couture had been her attorney in an earlier bankruptcy case. He tried to avoid representing her, albeit unsuccessfully, according to New York Post. She then accused him of mishandling her case, according to Fox News.

Couture asked Currie why she was at his office. Currie replied that she was there to kill him, producing a .410 caliber shotgun from underneath a towel on her lap, according to Nola. Couture said she was wearing blue latex gloves and had plastic shopping bags on her feet.

Couture wrestled the gun out of Currie’s hands when she raised it toward him, and then made the call to the authorities. When the St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived on the scene to arrest her, they found extra shotgun shells hidden in her undergarments, Nola reported.

Upon further investigation, authorities also found a box of ammunition in her car, according to Nola.

Currie claimed that she only meant to scare Couture when she arrived at the lawyer’s office. Still, the prosecutors weren’t quick to believe her claim. According to the Assistant District Attorney Blair Alford, her actions were that of a “cold-blooded, calculated attempted murder” during closing arguments in the case.

“If it weren’t for the victim’s quick thinking to wrestle the gun away from her, he would be dead,” Alford said.

The maximum sentence for her conviction—attempted second-degree murder—was 50 years, the sentence that prosecutors argued for, according to Nola. Meanwhile, Currie’s lawyers argued that she should only get the minimum sentence. In the end, it was decided that she would serve 22 years, according to the news outlet.

Judge Alan Zaunbrecher, who handled the case, said that he had considered the severity of violence in the crime. Currie’s using a gun and her lack of honesty and remorse for her actions, even during the sentencing, prompted him to give her the 22 years. However, he also made a note to notice that she had no prior convictions.

In a victim impact statement, Couture said that when fighting with Currie to get control of the gun, he could only think of his family. Nola reported.

ntd newsletter icon
Sign up for NTD Daily
What you need to know, summarized in one email.
Stay informed with accurate news you can trust.
By registering for the newsletter, you agree to the Privacy Policy.
Comments