In what broke in Lassen News, convicted and sentenced for the murder of beloved Susanville police officer Robert Mc Elrath, his wife Joanne McElrath has filed a resentencing trial in light of Senate bill 1437 that rewrites the murder law. The move would aim to have her conviction reviewed to match the newer requirements for murder under that 2019 law.
Earlier this month, pre-trial evidence was reviewed by a visiting judge at the LAssen Superior Courthouse. A status hearing and an order to show cause hearing will now follow this May. Joanna had pled guilty to the premeditated and deliberate first-degree murder of her husband in January 2011 and was sentenced to 25 years to life in 2014.
Senate bill 1437 changed the circumstances of a murder conviction in that someone who is not the actual killer but participated in a crime that resulted in death would only be charged with murder if they intended to kill, helped the actual killer, or were a significant participant in the crime and didn’t care about human life.
This brutal and horrific murder rocked the community.
This story first reported by Sam Williams, Lassen News
