Zamora attempts suicide
Babyface98
Diane Zamora reacts to the reading of her verdict of guilty for the murder
of Adrianne Jones.Zamora tried to kill herself, authorities
sayEx-midshipman cut her arm after her murder conviction
FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 18 — Former Naval Academy midshipman Diane
Zamora apparently tried to commit suicide in the wake of her murder
conviction, authorities said Wednesday. She was sentenced to prison until
at least 2038 for the slaying of her romantic rival. KXAS,
Dallas
CMDR. JAMES SKIDMORE, the head of the Tarrant County jail in Fort
Worth, said Zamora suffered only superficial wounds when she cut her arm
with a razor blade late Tuesday. He said she was placed on a “suicide
watch.”
The reported suicide attempt came just hours after Zamora was
sentenced to life in prison on capital murder charges for killing
16-year-old Adrianne Jones.
With the support of Jones’ parents, prosecutors opted not to seek a
death sentence, giving the 20-year-old Zamora an automatic life sentence
that makes her eligible for parole in 40 years.
“There are no winners in this case,” District Judge Joe Drago III
told the jury after the verdict, noting that Jones’ parents lost an
“athletic, energetic, vivacious daughter” and the Zamora family also has
lost a daughter.
Jones’ mother, Linda Jones, said that in some ways the family is
stronger than ever.
“Adrianne would not have wanted us to mourn forever but to remember
her with joy,” she said.
Zamora’s parents protested the verdict Wednesday morning on NBC’s
“Today” show.
“My Diane’s not a murderer,” Carlos Zamora said.
“I don’t think justice was served,” said his wife, Gloria Zamora.
“The prosecution did not allow many things to be entered into the
evidence.”
Gloria Zamora said she was not surprised that Diane displayed no
emotion at the verdict.
“I reacted in the same way that Diane reacted,” she said. “We’re
both real private and we were hurting inside both of us.”
The ex-fiancé, David Graham, rejected a plea bargain that would have
put him in prison for 30 years, lead prosecutor Mike Parrish said. If his
trial proceeds this summer, Graham will face much of the same evidence as
Zamora did.
The couple were high school seniors at the time of the killing. Both
graduated with honors and earned prestigious spots in military academies
the next year, she at the Naval Academy, he at the Air Force Academy. They
were arrested in September 1996 after Zamora’s academy roommates said she
had admitted to a killing.
Police said Graham and Zamora gave similar statements about driving
Jones to a remote lakeside field, where Zamora hit the girl in the head
with a weight and Graham shot her as she tried to flee.
Both of the accused said the slaying on Dec. 4, 1995, was an attempt
to “purify” their relationship after Graham and Jones had a fling.
Zamora testified that she confessed only to take the blame for
Graham. She said others who testified that she also confessed to them were
either mistaken or lying. Some of the witnesses — including classmates and
a former best friend — said Zamora told them Jones deserved to die and that
she would kill her again if she could.
Defense attorneys tried to portray Zamora as a victim of mental and
sexual abuse by Graham. And they blamed the actual murder on him.
Graham has a confession that can be admitted as evidence, said Bill
Lane, a Fort Worth attorney who watched the Zamora trial.
“Diane said she faked a confession to take the blame for him, but
what excuse does he have?” Lane said.
Besides the confessions, prosecutors also have shown that it was
Graham’s pistol that was used to kill Jones. Police found the gun in
Graham’s attic.
“It’s going to be hard to explain that away,” Lane said. “A
confession at least you can flat out deny, but the murder weapon in your
attic — that’s pretty tough.”
Graham’s lawyer, Robert Swofford, called a plea bargain “out of the
questions,” and said he would seek to have the trial moved out of Fort
Worth.
“It’s pretty clear that there has been an enormous amount of
publicity here,” he said.