BEAUMONT — A Jefferson County jury has found Elizabeth Taylor, 71, guilty of murder in the shooting death of her common law husband Larry Atwood, 58.
Elizabeth Ann Taylor, 70, of Lumberton was the suspect in the death of Larry Wayne Atwood, 58, from Vidor back in October of 2017.
Beaumont police said Taylor shot Atwood in the chest multiple times while inside a vehicle on Eastex Freeway near Home Depot and then pushed Atwood from the car.
Police believed Taylor and Atwood had a common law marriage.
The trial for Taylor began on Monday. Taylor’s defense attorney Ryan Gertz argued Taylor was acting out of self-defense.
Gertz claimed Atwood was high on meth when he suffocated and punched Taylor inside of the car.
He said Taylor tried to call police but she was overpowered and had no other choice but to shoot Atwood.
Beaumont police said Taylor fled the scene and was later found by Hardin county deputies at her family’s home off FM 1421 near Sour Lake.
According to the affidavit, Taylor had been in a relationship with Atwood for several years.
Gertz argued that Taylor had been abused many times before by Atwood.
“The reality is abusive relationships are not simple, they are not just let’s look at it in a vacuum let’s look at this one picture,” said Gertz.
“You have to look at the fact that often times people go back to their abusers, that’s common place, that happens all the time,” said Gertz.
During jury selection, Prosecutor Mike Laird emphasized guns were designed to kill. He implied Taylor intentionally wanted to murder Atwood.
On Tuesday, Taylor's family took the stand.
Her son, David Walters said she came to his house with bruises and cuts all over her face the day of the shooting.
Walters testified his mother told him: “I think I’m in trouble, I think I shot Larry Atwood.”
He said his mother told him she shot Atwood because he was hitting her head on the dashboard and trying to suffocate her.
Walters said he ended up taking his mother’s gun and putting it inside his car.
He told the jury Atwood has a reputation for beating women and even confronted him in the past about hurting his mom.
Walter said his mother was involved in previous abusive relationships as well.
During cross examination, Prosecutor Mike Laird asked why Walters didn’t call police to check on Atwood but he didn’t give an answer.
The major question both attorneys focused on was how many times Taylor fired her gun.
Defense attorney Ryan Gertz said she shot her gun twice inside the car.
He claims the gun went off on accident when Atwood tried to grab it. He said she fired the gun the second time to protect herself.
Prosecutor Mike Laird showed the jury the picture of the gun with three bullets missing.
He implied that Taylor was not as innocent as she seems. He said she had attacked and even shot at Atwood in the past.
Defense attorney Ryan Gertz claims Atwood was high on meth when he started beating Taylor in the car. He said Taylor had no other choice but to protect herself.
On Thursday, Taylor was found guilty of the murder of Atwood. No punishment has come down but Taylor could spend 5 years to life in prison.
