Murder Trial Divides Family

Aug. 25, 2005 — -- A bizarre murder case is splitting apart an affluent California family.

The wife is set to go on trial for murder, charged with stabbing her estranged husband to death. She says she acted in self-defense.

One of the couple's three sons believes her, another says she's lying, and the third is caught somewhere in between.

Susan Polk, 47, is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying death of her husband, Dr. Felix Polk, 70. Felix Polk died on Oct. 14, 2002 -- the coroner said he had been stabbed 27 times.

Susan claims she acted in self-defense, that she was simply at the couple's $2 million estate in Orinda, Calif., to collect her belongings when her husband became violent.

"He came at me, as he had done before, and punched me in the face," Susan said in a jailhouse interview. She said Felix came at her with a knife, which she wrestled from him and then stabbed him in the side.

"At the end he stood up and he said, 'Oh my God, I think I'm dead,'" Susan said.

Susan left the home without calling the police, and the next day took her youngest son, Gabriel, out to lunch. Gabriel, who was 15 at the time, found his father's body later that evening.

"My mom killed my dad, come quick," Gabriel reportedly told the 911 operator. Gabriel is scheduled to be a key witness for the prosecution, but his older brother Eli, 20, stands behind his mother.

"I love my little brother and no matter what he says I will always love him, and hope someday we can get back together and be the best friends we were, but I have to hope that one day he will tell the truth," Eli Polk told "Good Morning America" today. "My mom never instigated anything physical, ever."

A Bizarre Beginning

The relationship between Susan and Felix Polk began nearly 30 years ago, when Susan was just 15. She began attending therapy sessions with the noted Berkeley, Calif., therapist, then 42, because she was distressed over her parents' divorce.

The relationship turned sexual when Susan was 16. Felix eventually divorced his first wife, with whom he had two children, and married Susan when she was 25. He was 51. They had three sons: Gabriel, who is now 18, Eli, 20, and Adam, 22.

On the outside, the Polks appeared to be a successful, well-off family. But Susan now claims that Felix was a brutal and controlling man behind closed doors. Police responded several times to complaints of fighting at the house, filed by both Susan and Felix.

But Eli said his mother was always the victim.

"My father was violent, and he was always the aggressor, never my mom," he said. "That's why I know she was defending herself."

Premeditated or Self-Defense?

Before the incident, the Polks were in the process of divorcing. Susan was planning to move to Montana after the divorce was finalized, while Felix moved into their cottage house and won custody of Gabriel. Adam was at college and Eli was in a juvenile detention facility for getting into a fight.

Despite their physical separation, there are claims by both sides that fear was still a major part of the relationship.

Susan said she was afraid for her life before the night of Felix's death.

"When I finally did take the position that I wanted a divorce, he said that he would kill me," she said. "He said it in front of Gabriel and Eli.

Barry Morris, a criminal attorney who was a patient and friend of Felix, claims Felix was afraid of Susan and thought she was mentally unstable.

"A week before the homicide, Felix called me to tell me that Susan had called him from Montana and said that she had gotten a shotgun and was coming to kill him," Morris said.

Eli defended his mother's actions today on "Good Morning America."

"You can't even imagine what she must have went through," Eli said. "She told me she was completely in shock."

Susan had been out of jail on $1.1 million bail, but a judge revoked bail in April after prosecutors alleged she violated her agreement by repeatedly contacting Gabriel via e-mail.

Gabriel is a star witness for the prosecution, which believes the murder was premeditated. Prosecutors are focusing on the 27 stab wounds in the coroner's report -- five to the chest and stomach along with defensive and blunt force injuries.

"The horrific nature of the … stabbing wounds … could indicate the perpetrator was in an altered mental state of rage," forensic psychologist Paul Good wrote. Good also concluded that Susan Polk was "not grossly out of touch with reality," but that "her judgment and decision making could be seriously undermined by a paranoid delusional state."

"The truth is, if you look at the actual report … what you find is that these wounds are basically thrashing and just a few pokes," said Daniel Horowitz, Susan's lawyer. "They were not deep. There was no bruising … I don't know why he died." Horowitz suggested that Felix had bad arteries in his heart.

Horowitz is Susan's fourth lawyer. She fired three other lawyers and has represented herself at times.

Horowitz said is is important to note that Susan is not going for an insanity defense or a "battered woman/burning bed" syndrome. Instead, they intend to argue this was strictly self-defense by a woman who had been attacked and bullied by her husband in the past and had every reason to believe her husband intended to kill her.

Despite her claims, some experts say jurors rarely have sympathy for domestic abuse self-defense claims.

"Except in extreme examples, abuse as an excuse defenses are rarely successful," said Cheryl Hanna, a professor at Vermont Law School. "They rarely have sympathy for those kind of defense strategies."

Susan Polk faces 25 years to life in prison if she is convicted of first-degree murder.