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Jury finds son liable in millionaire's murder

(Court TV) -- A Dallas civil jury found Charles "Chuck" Mayhew Jr. liable for the murder of his millionaire father and awarded his sister $26 million in damages Friday.

The panel deliberated more than four hours before finding the 50-year-old heir responsible for the 1998 shotgun slaying of businessman Charles Mayhew Sr., which is still unsolved by police.

As the judge read the unanimous verdict, Mayhew, 50, showed no emotion. His sister, Amanda Mayhew Dealey, wiped away tears and stared into her lap.

After the police investigation stalled, Dealey, 52, filed the wrongful death suit against her brother, a chronic alcoholic with mental problems who lived off family money. Dealey alleged Chuck Mayhew killed their 81-year-old father because the elderly man had finally tired of his insults and threats and was cutting him off financially.

The jury award means Mayhew will be barred from his share of an estimated $8 million inheritance, but Dealey and her lawyers have cast doubt on the value of the estate and said they do not expect to collect a cent from Mayhew.

In her closing, Dealey's lawyer Rebecca Hamilton told jurors money was largely irrelevant in the case. Chuck Mayhew, who testified that he has survived on Social Security disability payments since his father's death, "is virtually indigent," said Hamilton.

"No one is collecting any money in this case," she said, adding that an extended court battle over a property venture left the Mayhew family estate "consumed by debt."

Hamilton told jurors that a financial award, even if never paid out, was a symbol of justice. A verdict, she said, would send a message to Mayhew that "we know you did it" and to the local district attorney to continue pursuing a criminal case against him.

Dealey's successful case against her brother was circumstantial. A parade of family friends and business acquaintances testified that Chuck Mayhew was drinking heavily at the time of the killing and constantly berated his father with profane threats for money. Jurors also heard that shortly before his murder, Charles Mayhew Sr. started to change his life insurance policy to exclude Chuck, and was letting his daughter take over the family business.

Perhaps the most damaging testimony against Mayhew was audiotapes surreptitiously recorded by his father three years before his murder. In them, Mayhew threatened to kill his father in several long, expletive-ridden rants.

The plaintiff's lawyers also seized on Mayhew's flimsy alibi for the night of the murder. A neighbor, Larry White, testified he saw a car Mayhew used near the dead man's home on February 28, 1998, but Mayhew claimed he was never there. He said he visited two drinking establishments and then drove his car around the countryside before returning to his home.

"Chuck has two and a half hours of unaccounted time," said Hamilton.

Chuck Mayhew's lawyer, William Hommel, argued that Dealey was using the trial as a chance for revenge. He said she envied Chuck Mayhew's close relationship with their father, and felt that she, as a responsible child and upstanding citizen, deserved the "favorite son" status.

"This is Amanda Dealey's chance to get even with Chuck Dealey after all these years," he said. "The problem is she doesn't have the proof to back up her case."

Mayhew accused a string of witnesses, including White, of lying about him and said that, although he and his father had a contentious relationship, they loved each other and always reconciled after fights.