Murder charges were dismissed against a husband and wife in connection with the death of a landlord who fell and sustained fatal injuries while trying to hold onto the hood of a moving van in the Mountain View neighborhood.
At the end of a two-day preliminary hearing, San Diego Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein dismissed those counts on Friday against Cory Skellion, 27, and Brooklyn Broadway, 25, who were charged last November in connection with the death of 32-year-old Gel Wuerth.
All charges against Skellion were dismissed; Broadway still faces charges of vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run. She faces a maximum of six years in state prison.
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A San Diego County District Attorney's Office spokesperson said in a statement that "We will continue to seek justice for the victim as we proceed with the case."
“Ever since this all started it’s been like something out of a movie,” said a relieved and happy Skellion three days after the murder charge against him was dropped. “I was pretty flabbergasted."
San Diego police said Skellion and Broadway had previously rented a house from Wuerth, who was found in the roadway just after 8 p.m. on Nov. 10. The victim was taken to a hospital, where Wuerth died the following day.
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While the initial call to police reported that a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle, police said that upon further investigation, it was discovered that the victim was involved in a "confrontation" with Skellion and Broadway near Jamul Avenue and Ocean View Boulevard just before Wuerth sustained her fatal injuries.
According to SDPD Lt. Jud Campbell, the victim was first bumped by a van Skellion was driving. Then with the victim grabbing onto the hood, the van drove with Wuerth atop the vehicle, and the victim was eventually slung from the van, the lieutenant said.
Skellion told NBC7 Wuerth confronted them and climbed on the hood of the borrowed mini-van they were driving.
“We wanted to stay safe," Skellion said on Monday. "We never wanted to get in trouble. We never wanted to be confronted. We were just picking up the rest of our stuff. We were moving out.”
Defense attorneys for both defendants say Skellion pulled over at one point and parked the van. Cell phone video taken by the couple shows Wuerth did not get off the hood even though the van was stopped for 92 seconds. On the video, Wuerth yells for someone to call 911, but she never tried to get off the vehicle.
“Thank God for this video”, said Ted Burgess, one of Skellion’s attorneys, who believe the video was key in getting the murder charges dropped. Attorney Alicia Freeze said the couple are heard saying things on the video that show they didn’t want to hurt anyone and didn’t want to get into trouble.
At some point, Skellion and Broadway switched seats, and while Broadway drove, Wuerth fell from the hood when Broadway stopped at a traffic light, according to attorneys.
Skellion and Broadway were arrested on Nov. 15.
At their arraignment last year, defense attorneys said Skellion and Broadway were a newly married couple originally from the South who were relatively new to San Diego.
Freeze, who is also representing Skellion, said her client was working at Marine Corps Recruit Depot at the time. Broadway's attorney, Brandon Naidu, said she was a San Diego-based active-duty member of the Navy.
Broadway returns to court Aug. 30 for arraignment. If convicted, she faces up to six years in prison. Had she been convicted of murder, she faced the potential for life behind bars
