Judge lowers bail to $1 million for woman charged with murder in death of Olympian husband

Judge lowers bail to $1 million for athlete’s wife

OXNARD, Calif. — A judge lowered bail to $1 million Thursday for an Oxnard widow charged with first-degree murder in the death of her husband, Olympic shot-put medalist Dave Laut.

Jane Laut’s attorney, Ron Bamieh, argued during a hearing in Ventura County Superior Court that his client was not a flight risk and her $3 million bail should be reduced.

During the hearing, a prosecutor revealed that Dave Laut was shot four times in the head on the evening of Aug. 27 and that his blood-alcohol level was below the legal limit for driving.

After Laut’s Feb. 13 arrest, Bamieh said Dave Laut was heavily intoxicated on the night of his death and that he had been threatening to make his wife watch him shoot their 10-year-old son and two dogs before he turned the gun on her.

When Dave Laut stumbled in their yard, Jane Laut seized the handgun he was carrying and shot him before he could wrestle the gun away from her, Bamieh said.

“The death of Mr. Laut was a tragic result of his almost 29 years of abuse of Jane Laut,” Bamieh said. “Jane was willing to suffer in silence for the rest of her life. What she was not willing to do was allow her son to be abused as she has been.”

Jane Laut previously told investigators that her husband was gunned down when he went to check noises they heard in their back yard.

Laut, 52, could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

Dave Laut won a bronze medal in the 1984 Olympics. At the time of his death, he was athletic director at Hueneme High School in Oxnard.