Transgender Wife Kills Husband, The Weapon... Exercise
Kisha Walker
March 21, 2009
"I'd rather not be painting an ugly picture," explained Vallandingham, the mother of
a transgender woman who was sentenced Friday to four years in prison for killing her frail husband, by forcing him to exercise in Middlefield, Ohio. Chris Mason, 41, was sentenced in Geauga County Common Pleas Court for reckless homicide in the death of her husband 73-year-old James Mason. Chris Mason also goes by Christine Newton-John, the name she took after her 1993 sex change; She was born John Leslie Vallandingham.
The lawyer for Ms. Mason, Geauga County Public Defender Robert Umholtz, said she had no intent to harm her husband. Unholtz said she struggles with psychological issues due to feelings that some people in society view her as differently. Chris Mason told police that she didn't intentionally kill her husband and that they were in the swimming pool at their apartment complex so he could exercise. A surveillance camera shows Chris Mason pulling her husband by his arms and legs on June 2, tossing and dunking him. Sometimes he clings to the side of the pool and his wife pulls him away. She appears to block his path as he tries to get out of the water — 43 times, by the police chief's count.
The former military officer, James Mason collapse in the arms of his 41 year old wife. He died the next day at Geauga Community Hospital. James Mason, had coronary artery disease, suffered a heart attack. An autopsy shows that his major arteries had potentially fatal blockages of about 75 percent, Geauga County Coroner Kevin Chartrand said. It was fine for James Mason to exercise, but the condition of his heart made strenuous activity a risk, Chartrand said.
"I want to apologize to my former husbandīs half-sister for her loss as well as to my family and for my loss," she said in court in an emotional tone. "Itīs been very upsetting and devastating for our entire family." Masonīs voice quivered as she tearfully apologized for the June death of her husband.
Regaining composure, Mason described their relationship.
"Jim had been in our family for over 45 years. He came up here from a small town and met my grandmother and my mother, who were like a mother and a sister to him," Mason said. "Over the years we gravitated towards each other, and he accepted me for who I was not what I was."
Kisha Walker
a transgender woman who was sentenced Friday to four years in prison for killing her frail husband, by forcing him to exercise in Middlefield, Ohio. Chris Mason, 41, was sentenced in Geauga County Common Pleas Court for reckless homicide in the death of her husband 73-year-old James Mason. Chris Mason also goes by Christine Newton-John, the name she took after her 1993 sex change; She was born John Leslie Vallandingham.
The lawyer for Ms. Mason, Geauga County Public Defender Robert Umholtz, said she had no intent to harm her husband. Unholtz said she struggles with psychological issues due to feelings that some people in society view her as differently. Chris Mason told police that she didn't intentionally kill her husband and that they were in the swimming pool at their apartment complex so he could exercise. A surveillance camera shows Chris Mason pulling her husband by his arms and legs on June 2, tossing and dunking him. Sometimes he clings to the side of the pool and his wife pulls him away. She appears to block his path as he tries to get out of the water — 43 times, by the police chief's count.
The former military officer, James Mason collapse in the arms of his 41 year old wife. He died the next day at Geauga Community Hospital. James Mason, had coronary artery disease, suffered a heart attack. An autopsy shows that his major arteries had potentially fatal blockages of about 75 percent, Geauga County Coroner Kevin Chartrand said. It was fine for James Mason to exercise, but the condition of his heart made strenuous activity a risk, Chartrand said.
"I want to apologize to my former husbandīs half-sister for her loss as well as to my family and for my loss," she said in court in an emotional tone. "Itīs been very upsetting and devastating for our entire family." Masonīs voice quivered as she tearfully apologized for the June death of her husband.
Regaining composure, Mason described their relationship.
"Jim had been in our family for over 45 years. He came up here from a small town and met my grandmother and my mother, who were like a mother and a sister to him," Mason said. "Over the years we gravitated towards each other, and he accepted me for who I was not what I was."
Kisha Walker
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