State v. Guthrie

Dr. William Guthrie (defendant), a Presbyterian minister, was convicted of murdering his wife, Sharon. William called 911, advising that Sharon was naked and unconscious in the bathtub. Subsequent testing showed that Sharon had a large amount of temazepam in her stomach at the time Sharon drowned. Further evidence indicated that William was having an affair, that a suicide note supposedly authored by Sharon was written on a computer in William’s home after Sharon’s death, that someone had used the computer to research prescription sleeping aids, and that William had filled multiple prescriptions for temazepam leading up to Sharon’s death. Also, although Sharon had massive amounts of temazepam in her stomach, no indication of the capsule remnants was present. The government (plaintiff) believed William had dosed Sharon’s chocolate milk with the powder from the temazepam capsules. The pivotal issue in William’s trial was whether Sharon died by murder or suicide. The government relied on testimony from Dr. Alan Berman, a clinical psychologist who had studied suicide, to identify character traits and circumstances of people who are suicidal and ultimately commit suicide. Dr. Berman testified that Sharon had minimal predisposing risk factors—such as no history of mental illness, depression, suicidal ideation, or chemical dependency. Dr. Berman discounted William’s affair, having learned that Sharon was aware of the affair and had planned to divorce William. Further, women rarely commit suicide by drowning in the bathtub, and Sharon was found face down in the tub, which would also be unusual. Ultimately, Dr. Berman testified that, in his opinion, Sharon did not die by suicide. William objected to this testimony and appealed on the basis that Dr. Berman’s testimony should have been inadmissible.