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A 29-year-old Maryland man pleaded guilty with reservations Tuesday to voluntary manslaughter, acknowledging allegations by prosecutors that he caused his domestic partner to fall from the balcony of a Northwest Washington apartment in May 2004, plunging 14 stories to his death.
In court papers, police said Richard Galla, 43, a piano accompanist for both the D.C. Lesbian & Gay Chorus and the Washington School of Ballet, fell from the balcony of his apartment as a result of a fight with Sean Stout, his domestic partner of two years. Charging papers say Stout grabbed Galla’s throat and lunged at him with a medallion shaped like a knife, cutting Galla’s hands. As Galla fled to his balcony and stepped over the railing while screaming for help, the charging papers say, Stout allegedly lunged at his face with the medallion, causing Galla to fall to his death. Neighbors found his nude body on the ground below the apartment about 4 a.m. May 2, court records show. The D.C. Medical Examiner’s office ruled the death a homicide and charged Stout with second-degree murder after determining that Galla suffered serious slash wounds, including an injury to his eye, that were not caused by the fall. In a Dec. 19 hearing in D.C. Superior Court, prosecutors agreed to drop the second-degree murder count against Stout in exchange for Stout’s decision to accept an voluntary manslaughter charge as part of an “Alford” plea. The plea, based on a past court ruling, allows a defendant to decline to admit committing a criminal act but admit that the government likely has sufficient evidence to convince a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty. The plea has the same legal weight as an ordinary guilty plea in determining a sentence and in maintaining the defendant’s criminal record, according to Channing Phillips, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office. Stout’s plea came seven months after his case went to trial and a Superior Court jury had acquited him of first degree murder and was unable to reach a verdict on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. Judge Lee F. Satterfield told Stout at the hearing this week that he faces a possible maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Satterfield said he would consider the recommendations of both prosecutors and his defense attorneys, as part of the plea agreement, that he follow voluntary sentencing guidelines, which call for a significantly lower sentence. He set the sentencing date for March 9. Source: washblade.com |
