An Almost Perfect Murder (28 page)

“I want you all to understand right now the state is asking for the maximum penalty, life without the possibility of parole,” Hicks continued. “It is the harshest penalty you can assess today. But that is precisely what this man deserves. Nothing else.

“What you’re going to have to ask yourself when you go back to deliberate is—is this a person who deserves an opportunity to live in our society again someday? He is not that person. Does a person who would kill his wife because he hated her, because he wanted to go out and chase other women, does that person deserve to ever live in our society again?

“Does a person who will subject another human being to the type of death that was described to you by Dr. Russell . . . deserve to ever be in our society again? That death as explained, that scenario, is pure terror. You are paralyzed, and yet you’re totally awake. For six to ten minutes you lie there not being able to breathe. Mr. Higgs was there. He saw this happen. I wonder what he said to her . . . and then he has the audacity to come here under oath and swear to you that he loved her. That is not a man who ever deserves to be in our society again.

“Does a man who would call a grieving mother a day before her daughter’s funeral and call her daughter two of the most offensive names for women deserve to ever be in our society again? No. And that man is Chaz Higgs. That is who he is. If a penalty ever fit a person, life in prison without the possibility of parole fits Chaz Higgs. He earned that. Give it to him.”

 

 

Alan Baum, in his summation for the penalty hearing, told the jury that he would not plead for mercy for Chaz Higgs.

“I don’t think anyone in this courtroom thinks that Chaz Higgs will live out whatever sentence you decide,” Baum said, “whether it be by age or other circumstances. So what I’m asking you is to make a gesture of compassion not for Chaz Higgs, but for his family. And that is no insult to the Augustine family, I hope. And I don’t think that they would consider it such, because I know they also share the pain of the parents of Chaz Higgs.

“So I am not asking for compassion or leniency on behalf of Chaz Higgs. I’m asking for compassion and leniency for his parents. Whatever years they have left on earth should be lived with the hope in their heart that even after they’re gone, their son may at some day be free. I think that they have one more tragedy to endure before they pass, and I think that tragedy will be seeing the death of their son. But let them have the remaining years they have with hope in their hearts, not for Chaz Higgs, but for them, please. Thank you.”

 

 

The jury, having been charged with its duty and obligation to determine the sentencing for Chaz Higgs, was released to the custody of the bailiff so that they could begin their deliberations. The jury returned a short time later and announced that they had reached a verdict in the penalty phase, and Judge Kosach instructed the clerk to read it:

Neither the prosecution nor the defense cared to poll the jury, after which Judge Kosach confirmed the sentence. Chaz Higgs had nothing to say, and was taken from the courtroom to begin serving his sentence in the Nevada state prison system. An appeal likely will be filed in the case.

Some names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals connected to this story.

 

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