Woodland Woman To Stand Trial For Killing Husband In Domestic Violence Dispute
After Susan Hoskins called 911 to report she had just shot her husband, Bryan Hoskins, the dispatcher asked why she had shot him. Susan Hoskins replied matter-of-factly, ““Because he’s an [a—h–-] and he kept calling me a whore,” Bryan Hoskins Sr., 60, moaned loudly in the background.
By the time police arrived, Bryan Hoskins lay near death on the kitchen floor. He gasped twice for air and then was pronounced dead, Woodland police Sergeant Jason Brooks testified. An autopsy revealed Bryan died of a single gunshot wound to the chest that tore a hole in his aorta.
Having reported the shooting to the 911 dispatcher, Susan Hoskins could then be heard conversing with her husband in a recording played in open court on November 7, according to a Davis Enterprise report. “Where did I shoot you?” Susan could be heard asking Bryan. “Sit down and let me see where I shot you,” Susan told Bryan. Bryan could be heard mumbling what sounded like a “help” in the background.
Susan then explained to the 911 dispatcher that Bryan was “leaning over the sink,” but that she could not tell where she had shot him.
After the recording concluded, Yolo Superior Court Judge Samuel McAdam ruled that he had heard evidence sufficient to warrant a trial for Susan, a Woodland Healthcare nurse, on charges of murder and unlawful use of a firearm in the August 3 death of her husband, a retired Yolo County probation officer.
Susan’s defense attorney, Shannan Dugan, had claimed, before McAdam’s ruling, that she was a victim of domestic violence and should, at most, face a manslaughter charge. According to Dugan, the Hoskins’s 15-year marriage was troubled. In fact, they lived in separate townhomes within the same complex; they’d retreat to their separate living quarters after many altercations. Dugan also said several of Susan’s coworkers provided details about how horrible the situation was; neighbors have said the couple fought like cats and dogs.
Hoskins, 59, now faces arraignment on November 21. She is being held without bail at the Yolo County Jail.
Read More:
Davis Enterprise: Trial ordered in husband’s shooting death
CrimeVoice: Woman Charged in Woodland Husband Killing Case Finally Arraigned
