Valdosta Daily Times

Local News

October 4, 2012

Luberda found guilty after 3 day trial

VALDOSTA — While hushed voices whispered of the possibility of a mistrial as the murder trial moved into a third day Wednesday morning in Superior Court, the jury found Wayne Luberda guilty on all counts regarding the murder of his wife Maria at their Wilkerson Avenue residence in October of 2011.

Wayne Dean Luberda was convicted of malice murder, concealing the death of another and tampering with evidence.

Luberda and his attorney rose in anticipation of the verdict. But after Luberda’s conviction was announced, he simply shut his eyes and hung his head.

While most of the jury appeared to be at ease as the honorable Judge Richard Cowart polled them each on their verdicts, a few jurors appeared slightly unsettled. However, each juror restated his or her verdict before the public with confidence and conviction.

On Oct. 7, 2011, Luberda was convicted of striking his wife Maria with a blunt object, fragmenting the back of her skull into five large shards. He wrapped her head in a garbage bag, her body in bedding, and concealed her in a closet for several days.

While Luberda testified that he had only pushed his wife during a heated dispute, the medical examiner who oversaw Maria’s autopsy stated that it was next to impossible to inflict such damage from a push. With over 2,700 autopsies under her belt, she stated that the wounds were synonymous with receiving a gunshot wound or falling from at least two stories.

“If she had fallen and struck her head on a counter, you’d see a laceration of the scalp -- but not that large,” said the witness as she referred to an image of Maria’s lifted scalp. “You’d see a linear fracture, and the skull fragments wouldn’t have penetrated the dura mater of her brain.”

It would have to have been a heavy object, said the witness.

No heavy object was found at the couple’s residence, but several days had elapsed between Maria’s murder and discovery. Luberda was arrested in his car, and detectives were unable to find the clothes that he said he was wearing during the altercation with his wife.

District Attorney David Miller commended the Valdosta Police Department in their transparency. He said he and his staff were allowed to observe the scene shortly after Maria’s body was discovered and the scene was secured.

“Investigators provide us with videos and reports in every case we take up,” said Miller. “But being there on the scene, in 3D so to say, helps us tremendously in building our cases and proving them beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Miller stated that he was highly appreciative of the job that Assistant District Attorney Tracy Chapman and the police department did in prosecuting the case. And he said his entire office thanks the jury for their attentiveness in weighing this case.

In Georgia, the minimum sentence for malice murder [O.C.G.A. 16-5-1] is life imprisonment. Conviction of concealing a death [O.C.G.A. 16-10-31] and tampering with evidence [O.C.G.A. 16-10-94] each carry minimum sentences of a year and imprisonment and a maximum of ten years plus fines.

A pre-sentence hearing will be held on Nov. 16, 2012 at the Lowndes County Courtroom Annex.

Text Only
Local News
  • VECA1.jpg VECA recognized at VSU

    Rising juniors from the Valdosta Early College Academy (VECA) were recognized at Valdosta State University Wednesday night as the first group of students to begin earning college credit while still in high school.

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo

  • 130522-disaster help second_har Businesses raise funds for Oklahoma disaster

    By now, we’ve all heard about the tragedy in Moore, Okla., a mile-wide, F5 tornado with winds of more than 200 miles per hour carved through 17 miles over a span of 50 minutes on Monday afternoon.

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo

  • N1209P63005K.jpg Southwestern State Hospital to close

    One of Thomas County’s largest employers — at more than 700 people — and a longtime regional state mental hospital will close Dec. 31.

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo

  • Oklahoma Tornado_Stew.jpg Search for survivors continues

    Helmeted rescue workers raced Tuesday to complete the search for survivors and the dead in the Oklahoma City suburb where a mammoth tornado destroyed countless homes, cleared lots down to bare red earth and claimed 24 lives, including those of nine children.

    May 22, 2013 3 Photos

  • 130521-bill_shenton003.jpg Curator offers arts a helping hand

    If you’ve been to the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts in the past four years, you have seen the quiet art of Bill Shenton.

    May 22, 2013 2 Photos

  • swampghost1 copy.jpg Albino gators visit Wild Adventures

    Two rare albino American alligators have joined the other gators at Wild Adventures for the summer.

    May 21, 2013 1 Photo

  • Police_Car_2 2 copy 2.jpg Officers wound man in shootout

    A Lanier County man was wounded Saturday during an exchange of gunfire with lawmen, according to a Lanier County Sheriff’s Office press release.

    May 21, 2013 1 Photo

  • At Random - Mandy Painter04 copy.jpg Woman fights to live after cancer

    To be whole again, the desire that sometimes overwhelms chair-bound Mandy Painter, fuels the Realtor each day through walking lessons during physical therapy and it's also what could see her through a cutting-edge program in Boston, where world-class neurologists can reawaken her cerebellum and see the mother of three to her feet again.

    May 20, 2013 1 Photo

  • photo(2).JPG North Ashley Street closed following accident

    A Sport Utility Vehicle traveling north on North Ashley Street drove into a telephone pole Monday morning, resulting in the closure of the road.

    May 20, 2013 2 Photos

  • gornto copy.jpg Gornto extension half complete

    The Gornto Road extension project is more than half-way complete, and could be finished ahead of the one-year deadline contractors were given when the project was approved Oct. 11 by the Valdosta City Council.

    May 20, 2013 1 Photo

Top News
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
Poll

What’s your best advice for graduates?

Go to college or trade school immediately.
Work for a while then seek further education.
Enter the work force.
Intern, ensure an interest is something you can do.
     View Results