Wash. man convicted in fellow student's murder

Criminal Law

A 20-year-old man who had been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic was convicted Wednesday in the fatal shooting of a fellow high school student.


Douglas S. Chanthabouly had been charged with first-degree murder but a Pierce County Superior Court jury convicted him of second-degree murder. He had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Chanthabouly faces about 15 to 30 years in prison for the shooting of Samnang Kok, 17, in a hallway at Foss High School on Jan. 3, 2007. If he had been acquitted by reason of insanity, he would have been committed indefinitely to a state mental institution. Sentencing was set for May 1.

"We're disappointed and expect that we'll be filing an appeal," court-appointed defense lawyer John A. McNeish said, declining to specify grounds for an appeal.

Prosecutor Ed Murphy said he did not know the split among jurors on the charge of first-degree murder, which requires a finding of premeditation.

"I think it was a difficult issue for the jury," Murphy said.

During the trial, witnesses testified that Chanthabouly pointed a handgun at Kok and fired a shot into his face and two more rounds into his body from no more than a foot away.

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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC

A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party

Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party

However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.

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