Woman, 81, sent to prison for killing companion

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An 81-year-old Portland woman who killed her 89-year-old male companion pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and received 18 months in prison.

The sentence makes Beatrice Ward the second-oldest female inmate in Oregon.

Prosecutors said Ward was angry at Robert Carr because he failed to visit her last September. Ward went Carr's home and then followed his car to a Target store. Witnesses said she charged out of her car and starting hitting Carr, a former jockey roughly the same size as Ward.

Carr fell to the pavement, suffering a fatal blow to the head.

Ward's attorney, Scott Raivio, said imprisonment is an excessive penalty given his client's age and lack of a prior criminal record.

Ward's neighbor Wendy Martin told the judge during Thursday's sentencing that she saw nothing but a loving relationship between Carr and Ward.

"I feel it was some sort of tragic accident," Martin said.

But prosecutors said Ward had a history of domestic abuse against Carr. Carr's family said Ward battered him to the point of bruising three times before.

Deputy District Attorney Greg Moawad said there is "no joy in sending an 81-year-old woman to prison," but it's where she deserves to be.

Lynn Reinecker, Carr's daughter, told the judge that she struggles for answers. "I've got a burning question," she said as she weeped. "What could he possibly have said or done that he had to pay for it with his life?"

Reinecker added: "I hope through all of this she learns you can't push other people around."

Ward declined to speak during the hearing.

A World War II veteran, Carr had four grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren at the time of his death. 

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)