Alford Gets 25 to Life While Daughter Goes Free in Heath Murder Verdict

Prosecutor Celia Rowland said she believes David Alford, 56, and his daughter, Laura, were equally responsible for the, who was shot in the back of the head and disposed of in Big Sur off Highway 1 around two years ago.  However, Laura walked out of the courtroom last month free, while her father, whose verdict was reached last week, was sentenced to 25 years to life.

The sentence, given Monday by Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Paul Marigonda, charged Alford with 25 years to life in prison for shooting and killing an unarmed man, while his daughter, who had been driving the car Heath was murdered in, was seen as an accessory and set free.

“Do I think she was guilty—absolutely,” said Rowland in an interview after the trial. “But at the end of the day, the jury worked very hard when deliberating on this case.”

While some may view Laura Alford's verdict as unfair, Rowland said she did pay a price for her involvement by spending one year in jail prior to the verdict.

Rowland also said that upon the announcement of David Alford's verdict that Laura Alford burst into tears while her father sat emotionless. Rowland said she believes the jury sympathized with the 25-year-old after witnessing her tearful reaction.

“I believe that the jury felt sorry for her; it is an awkward situation,” Rowland said. “Each member of the jury had that picture [of her crying] in their mind.”

Rowland said the jury spent most of its time deliberating on Alford's fate and reached a verdict on Laura fairly quickly, because of the leniency of the law in terms of being an accessory.

Although Rowland said there was evidence to support a first-degree murder verdict for David Alford, she says the second-degree verdict is just.

“I argued that there was evidence to support a first-degree murder conviction, and that’s because it was our position that he actually walked Mr. Heath out of the house at gunpoint—in stark contrast to his position that the gun was already in the car, which was implausible,” she explained.

Alford testified that he and his daughter drove Heath, 58, away from the house because he was abusively drunk. He said he happened to find a gun when he was sitting in the back seat of his wife's car, and while trying to strike Alford with it, accidentally shot him.

The verdict was reached largely because of conflicting explanations in the Alfords' accounts of the night's happenings. Their explanations as to why David Alford shot Heath at close range in April 2009 continually changed and were nonsensical, according to Rowland, who said he later argued that Heath had groped his daughter while she was driving the car.

“If you’re concerned about someone being inappropriate with your daughter, you’re not going to have them sit right next to him,” Rowland said.

In his latest testimony, Alford also said that Heath had attempted to take hold of the wheel while Laura was driving, and at that point, he mistakenly shot Heath in self defense.

“It was a very unusual case, because the only witnesses were two defendants who obviously weren’t reliable,” Rowland said. “It was clear that the defendant was lying—his story changed each time he told it.”

For background information on the Heath murder trial, refer to Patch's previous article.