National and local advocates for domestic violence survivors Tuesday called on the Kern County District Attorney’s Office to drop a first-degree murder charge against a Tehachapi woman who said she shot her ex-husband in self-defense because of his abuse.
“It is unjust that my mom would go to prison for defending herself on her own property,” wrote Bayley Pitts, daughter of murder suspect Wendy Howard, in a statement. “Wendy (Howard) is the sun, and we are the planets. She is the most important person in all our lives. She watches her grandkids every day. Her younger children are dependent on her.”
Kern County Superior Court Judge Colette Humphrey assigned a courtroom Tuesday for trial after a prosecutor and defense attorney said they were ready. Both lawyers were scheduled Tuesday afternoon to discuss motions about what evidence can be shown to the jury. Jury selection is expected to begin Wednesday.
Howard is accused of killing her former husband, Kelly Rees Pitts, 59, after confronting him about sexually abusing her daughter, according to Tehachapi Police Department offense reports filed in Kern County Superior Court. Kelly Pitts denied the allegations, called Howard a liar and began yelling at her after she confronted him, the court reports state.
Howard said Kelly Pitts then attempted to “lurch” a quad at her and she shot him, the court documents state. The defendant said to police in the reports she was threatened by Pitts and carried a gun to protect her family.
The Tehachapi Police Department was investigating Kelly Pitts over sexual assault allegations made by Howard’s then-16-year-old daughter. Pitts’ eldest daughter accused him of sexual abuse from 2002 to 2005, according to The Californian’s previous reporting.
The DA's office declined to prosecute the case involving Pitts’ eldest daughter because of a lack of evidence, according to previous reporting.
Howard has accused Kelly Pitts of hitting her in the head with a baseball bat when she was pregnant, and attempting to rape her.
A spokesman for the DA’s office, Assistant District Attorney Joseph Kinzel, wrote in an email he couldn’t comment because there is a gag order on the case.
Prosecutors should drop the case against Howard after considering what transpired before the shooting, Alisa Bierria, co-founder of Survived & Punished, a national coalition advocating to end criminalizing women who suffer domestic violence, said Tuesday during an interview in downtown Bakersfield.
Bierria, Howard and other advocates are asking the DA’s office to drop the murder charge, or seeking an acquittal verdict from jurors. The trial itself is a punishment for Howard because she must recount her story several times and relive it, said Bierria, who is also an assistant professor of gender studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
A gag order prevented Howard from speaking on the case, but Bierria described Howard’s condition.
Asked about Howard taking accountability for Pitts’ death, Bierria said someone dying is not an ideal situation. Ultimately, accountability for the abuse must land with the abuser and the accountability for the lack of intervention lands with the system, she noted. Howard had gone to the police for the alleged sexual assault and took the right steps to report any suspected incidents, Bierria added.
It’s terrifying for domestic violence survivors to endure their abuse and then land in prison for actions taken during a “chaotic time,” she added.
“If you don’t defend yourself, you lose your life,” Bierria said. “If you do defend yourself, you lose your freedom.”
Editor's note: This story has been updated to state Howard has accused Kelly Pitts of hitting her in the head with a baseball bat when she was pregnant.