By Cynthia Hubert
chubert@sacbee.com
A Sacramento Superior Court jury has found Joe McCoy guilty of charges that could send him to state prison for the rest of his life for inflicting injuries that left his former girlfriend a quadriplegic.
Jurors found McCoy, 51, guilty of felony torture, spousal abuse and penetration with a foreign object, plus "enhancements" to those crimes that will lengthen his sentence. The charges carry a potential penalty of 25 years to life in prison.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict on a charge of attempted murder.
The victim, who The Bee is identifying as Jane Doe, testified during trial that McCoy threw her to the ground in a fit of rage in the apartment they shared in September 2009, then bent her legs over her back, snapping her neck and leaving her permanently paralyzed from the chest down. She said he continued to beat her and sexually abuse her throughout the night, refusing to call an ambulance until she agreed to make up a story the next day about how she got hurt.
The woman, 50, said McCoy had abused her "four or five" times prior to the injury that caused her paralysis. The mother of two and longtime employee of Rite Aid Pharmacies now lives in a care home.
Deputy District Attorney Ruanne Dozier said she was pleased with the jury's work.
"This was one of the most horrific cases I have ever come across," the veteran domestic abuse prosecutor said. "They did the right thing."
Call The Bee's Cynthia Hubert, (916) 321-1082.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.