Much like he was throughout the previous three days of testimony, Dowagiac’s Terry Stineback appeared calm and collected as a panel of his peers announced they had found him guilty of murdering his wife.

A 12-person jury returned a verdict of guilty Friday on all three counts against the Dowagiac man who shot and killed his wife, Laura Stineback, during a domestic dispute in their home last spring.

The jury found Stineback, 44, guilty of second-degree murder following nearly three hours of deliberation in Cass County Court that afternoon. The conviction carries a sentence of life or any term of years in prison.

The jury also returned guilty verdicts on the other two counts against the Dowagiac man: a count of assault with intent to commit murder, which also carries a sentence of life or any term of years in prison, and felony firearms, which carries a mandatorily consecutive two-year prison sentence.

The decision followed three days worth of testimony by the prosecution, led by Assisstant Prosecutor Tiffiny Vohwinkle, and defense, led by attorney Edwin Johnson. Both sides wrapped up their cases and delivered closing remarks Thursday.

Stineback was accused of shooting his wife three times in the back during an argument in the master bedroom of their home on Flanders Street in Wayne Township the night of May 12, 2015. The shooting took place following an altercation minutes earlier in the kitchen of the home, where the couple’s 9-year-old daughter said her father was standing over her mother, strangling her.

“We were very pleased with the verdict,” said Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz, immediately following the jury’s decision. “This vindicates Laura Stineback and the tragedy she underwent. The jury’s verdict sends a very clear message that domestic violence will not be tolerated — the defendant’s actions were domestic violence at its very worst. When you mix booze and brawn and bullets, this all too often is the unfortunate result.”

The prosecutor added that the defendant’s claim he shot his wife in self-defense, fearing she was reaching for her own gun during the altercation in the bedroom, was not supported by the physical evidence presented to the jury during the proceedings.

Fitz also condemned the fact Stineback attempted to paint Laura as an abusive spouse while on the witness stand, saying it added “further insult to the permanent injury he inflicted upon
the victim.”

Vohwinkle said she was also pleased by the jury’s decision — as were Laura Stineback’s parents and family, who were in the gallery that afternoon for the decision.

“They’re relieved this step is done, and they can start to heal their family,” Vohwinkle said.

The prosecutor’s office will recommend that Judge Dodge impose a life sentence on Stineback during his sentencing hearing next month, Vohwinkle said.

Stineback’s attorney said he respected the jury’s decision, but felt that, considering the fact the prosecution could not conclusively prove his client acted with malice or evil intent, at worst the jury should have returned a conviction for voluntary manslaughter, Johnson said.

“Our theory of the case was that it was self-defense,” Johnson said. “I thought we put on a pretty compelling case for self-defense. But I’m not on the jury. Obviously the prosecution thought it was first-degree murder, and it wasn’t, according to the jury. So, I can’t be angry at the jury for not coming back with what I thought was appropriate anymore than the prosecution can be angry with them because they didn’t come back with what they felt was appropriate.”

While he won’t be able to represent him, Johnson would recommend that Stineback file appeal to the jury’s decision, the attorney said.

Johnson also believed that, given the fact this was his client’s first criminal act, it would be unlikely that the state would recommend a life sentence, he said.

Stineback is set to go before Judge Michael Dodge for sentencing July 29.