11 months ago
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TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A pistillate who was convicted of sidesplitting her hubby successful Tulare County and dumping his assemblage adjacent Kettleman City was recovered suitable for parole aft serving implicit 3 decades successful prison, according to the Tulare County District Attorney's Office.
The DA says connected July 3, implicit the objection of prosecutors, California parole commissioners recovered June Gravlee, 70, suitable for parole aft she was convicted successful 1990 for first-degree execution with the peculiar condition of execution for fiscal gain.
Gravlee and her hubby Andrew Gravlee were joined successful October 1986. At the clip of the marriage, Andrew was 35 years her senior.
On July 17, 1987, astatine their location successful Tulare, the DA says Gravlee and her member Gary Smith stabbed and bushed Andrew, sidesplitting him.
According to tribunal documents, the brace wrapped his assemblage successful a tarp and drove him successful his pickup to a ravine successful the hills adjacent Kettleman City, wherever they buried him.
In precocious 1987, Andrew’s household became suspicious that they had not heard from him. Tulare Police Department officers began an authoritative probe successful 1988 and questioned Gravlee, who yet told officers that it was her member who killed her husband.
For the adjacent fewer months, Gravlee collected her husband’s pension and societal information checks and adjacent applied for further benefits. Gravlee explained her husband’s lack by telling radical helium had near municipality suddenly.
On June 14, 1989, Andrew’s assemblage was discovered with stab wounds to the backmost and chest, and terrible blunt unit trauma to his caput determined to beryllium caused by strikes with a ball-peen hammer. Smith pleaded blameworthy to 1 number of first-degree execution and was sentenced to 25 years to beingness successful prison.
In the punishment signifier of the trial, the Tulare County assemblage recommended a decease sentence. However, the proceedings justice astatine the clip modified the verdict to a punishment of beingness imprisonment without the anticipation of parole.
Her condemnation was again modified successful 2018 erstwhile erstwhile Governor Brown commuted her condemnation to life, the simplification of which made her eligible for parole.
Smith was granted parole successful 2013 aft serving 24 years.
In March of 2023 astatine Gravlee’s 3rd parole hearing, she admitted for the archetypal clip that she did so stab her hubby contempt denying truthful previously.
At her astir caller hearing, prosecutors accidental Gravlee denied her idiosyncratic engagement and asserted her anterior admittance was simply made to look favorable to parole commissioners.
“June Gravlee is simply a maestro manipulator. Either she lied astir her engagement successful the execution astatine her past hearing, oregon she lied to these commissioners. Either way, it is disgusting that her manipulation has been rewarded. The assemblage saw done her scheme; it’s unfortunate that parole commissioners did not,” said District Attorney Tim Ward.
Commissioners cited her property and situation programming arsenic factors favoring release.
The DA says Gravlee’s parole suitability volition present beryllium reviewed by the Governor’s office. Gravlee is presently incarcerated astatine the California Institution for Women successful Corona.
