A judge threw the book at one man who was convicted of killing his ex-wife with a golf club, allegedly over money. INSIDE EDITION has the story.
It was judgment day for 60-year-old Steven DeMocker, a once high-flying wealthy stockbroker. He was convicted of killing his wife of 25 years, Carol.
In an act of unspeakable brutality, he hid in the trees outside the home in Prescott Arizona, then stormed in and bludgeoned her with a 7-wood golf club just a month after their divorce.
Carol was on the phone with her mother, Ruth Kennedy, when the attack took place. Ruth called 911 and said, "I was on the phone with my daughter and she screamed and said, 'Oh no!' and the phone's gone dead."
Ruth had no way of knowing her daughter was being beaten to death with a golf club. She told the 911 operator, "We were just having our conversation, and then, all of a sudden, she just screamed and said, 'Oh no!' and then I haven't been able to get her to answer the phone back. You know, I'm afraid something bad's happened. You know, I'm just at my wits end!"
HLN host Nancy Grace told INSIDE EDITION, "The attack on Carol Kennedy was so violent, even the judge, who is supposed to remain impartial said he could not get the photos of her dead body out of his mind."
Steven once made half-a-million dollars-a-year. But investigators discovered he owed Carol a whopping $6,000 a month in alimony. He was also the beneficiary of a $750,000 insurance policy on her life.
Grace said, "Greed is one of the seven deadly sins for a reason, and focus on deadly! This was all about money!"
At his sentencing, the killer’s two daughters pled with the judge to go easy on their dad. Pointing out that the case was circumstantial, the only hard evidence were footprints and bicycle tracks outside of the house that investigators said belonged to Steven.
His daughter Charlotte said, “I would not be the woman I am today without his guidance.”
Finally, the convicted killer stood in court, still insisting that they had the wrong man. He said, “I did not kill Carol. We loved each other for 20 years. Our marriage was over but not our affection for each other. Justice for her is not accomplished by falsely accussing and then condemning the wrong man.”
But the judge disagreed. Steven DeMocker will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
