WOODLAND — A former Woodland nurse accused of fatally shooting her husband entered into a plea agreement in Yolo Superior Court on Friday rather than face a second trial.
Susan Kathleen Hoskins pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and personal use of a firearm for the Aug. 3, 2014, shooting death of her husband, Bryan Hoskins Sr.
Susan Hoskins. Enterprise file photo
The plea deal calls for Susan Hoskins, 60, to serve four years in state prison, minus the 14 months she spent in county jail awaiting trial. Judge David Reed vacated the retrial, which was scheduled for April.
Hoskins remains free on $140,000 bail pending her May 10 sentencing hearing. Had she been convicted of voluntary manslaughter at her second trial, she faced as much as 20 years in prison — 10 for manslaughter, plus another 10 for the weapon enhancement.
A Yolo County jury acquitted Hoskins of both first- and second-degree murder last October following a monthlong trial and eight days of deliberations. The panel also deadlocked 7-5 in favor of guilt on a manslaughter charge, resulting in a mistrial.
Hoskins admitted to shooting her husband during an argument in the kitchen of their Knollwood Drive condominium, calmly telling police dispatchers she did it “because he’s an a—— and he kept calling me a whore.”
But at trial she claimed self-defense, saying her husband for years abused her physically, sexually and psychologically, and was charging at her in an alcohol-fueled rage when she pulled the trigger.
According to defense attorney Shannan Dugan, jurors in the first trial “all found that there was psychological abuse, it was real and significant, and that affected their findings on the murder charges,” along with Hoskins’ lack of a prior criminal record.
The jury was “very divided” on the manslaughter count, Dugan added, with the majority believing there was insufficient evidence of physical abuse, while the others believed prosecutors failed to prove Hoskins “didn’t have reasonable fear.”
Dugan called the plea deal “a practical decision from both sides. It was a very tragic case for everybody, and hopefully this is a chance to provide closure and start the healing process.”
Bryan Hoskins Jr., the victim’s son and defendant’s stepson, was in court to witness the plea agreement, as were Susan Hoskins’ mother and several friends.
Hoskins Jr. and the case’s prosecutors, Jay Linden and Carolyn Palumbo, declined to comment until the sentencing hearing.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene