Franklin Lynch, 78, is claiming self-defense in the face of accusations he murdered his ex-wife’s neighbor.
OAKLAND — A 78-year-old man accused of murdering his ex-wife’s mentally ill neighbor during a dispute in front of her Fremont home has been released on bail, after a preliminary hearing where he made the unusual move of testifying in his own defense, court records show.
At the preliminary hearing, Lynch’s attorney called more witnesses than did prosecutors, and made the uncanny move of putting his own client on the witness stand. Lynch testified that he used his training from his six-year career in law enforcement before deciding to shoot Soundararaj twice in the chest with his pistol. He said he weighed his options and decided he either had to fire or drop the gun and “engage in physical battery that I know I am going to lose.
He said he heard a commotion outside that afternoon and walked out to see Soundararaj accosting Lynch’s stepson, who sat in a car in the driveway. Soundararaj was suffering from some sort of delusion and his family had tried to get him placed in an involuntary mental hold earlier in the week, but were told he didn’t rise to level of being a danger to himself or others, according to court records.
At one point, Soundararaj shoved Xi Feng Lynch. Franklin Lynch testified he told Soundararaj twice to leave or he would shoot, and fired two shots aimed as his chest after Soundararaj walked toward him. “They were approaching the dead body, not you, correct?” Deputy District Attorney Natasha Jontulovich asked Lynch.“Okay. So nobody threatened you. Nobody came up to you, but you held onto the gun because you deemed that they were also a threat, is that correct?” Jontulovich asked.During arguments, defense attorney George Newhouse argued the incident was “a tragedy” but an act of lawful self-defense, describing Soundararaj as a “lunatic” who committed “a brutal assault on an Asian woman.
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