Washington V. Mays

In the early hours of a wintry morning in downtown Yakima, Michael C. Mays fired three shots from a .38 caliber revolver into his former wife, Denise A. Mays, inflicting four wounds. She died from these wounds nearly 4 hours later, at about 5 a.m., February 2, 1963, in the hospital. Several years of marital discord followed by a divorce, months of bitter recrimination over the care and custody of Debbie, their minor daughter, and surveillance by the defendant of his former wife's comings and goings, all preceded the shooting. A few moments before the fatal fusillade, the defendant, Michael C. Mays, had accosted his wife and her escort as they were about to walk to a parked automobile. A minute or so after a brief but animated conversation, and as he stood only a few feet from her, defendant drew the revolver from his pocket and fired the deadly rounds.