Woman who drove over her husband twice pleads guilty

Deepa Bharath

SANTA ANA -- A 41-year-old woman who killed her husband by running him

over twice with their car after an argument last year pleaded guilty to

voluntary manslaughter Monday, officials said.

Leslie Claire Van Houten was arrested Feb. 2, 2000, on suspicion of

murder. Authorities said the woman argued earlier that day with her

52-year-old husband, Kenneth Jerome, at their trailer park on West 15th

Street as they fought over who would take the couple’s purple Geo Storm.

They could not come to an agreement and Van Houten followed suit by

hitting her husband with the car as he was riding his bike. Witnesses

told police that she accelerated the car toward her husband and struck

him flush, then put the car in reverse and ran him over as he lay in the

street.

Last year, Van Houten pleaded not guilty to a murder charge that

prosecutors had filed.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Carolyn Carlisle-Raines said the Orange County

district attorney’s office on Friday offered Van Houten a plea bargain in

the form of voluntary manslaughter, which she accepted.

“This was something I anticipated since it is something her attorney

and I have been working on,” she said.

The defense maintains that Van Houten was a victim of domestic

violence and that her husband beat her. Officials said she has no prior

criminal record. Public Defender William Kelley was not available for

comment Tuesday.

On Aug. 28, a Superior Court judge will listen to evidence presented

by the prosecution and defense to arrive at a punishment. Van Houten

could get up to 11 years in prison for the crime.