Jury rejects caffeine defense in convicting Kentucky man of murder in wife’s strangulation

Jury rejects caffeine defense at Ky. murder trial

NEWPORT, Ky. — A Kentucky man has been convicted of murder in his wife’s death after a jury rejected defense claims that his statements to police were made under high stress fueled by large amounts of caffeine and a lack of sleep.

The Newport jury deliberated about 1 1/2 hours Friday before convicting Woody Will Smith in the May 2009 strangulation of Amanda Hornsby-Smith. The Kentucky Enquirer reported that the jury also recommended a life sentence. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 20.

Attorney Shannon Sexton had told jurors Smith did not kill his wife, but that excessive caffeine from sodas, energy drinks and diet pills left him so sleep deprived and mentally unstable that he had falsely confessed to police. Prosecutors said Smith attacked his wife during a fight.

Information from: The Kentucky Enquirer, www.nky.com