Man Guilty Of Killing Friend Over Debt
Michael O’Neil beat a friend to death over a $60 debt.
Spokane County jurors didn’t believe O’Neil’s claim that it was self-defense. Nor did they believe O’Neil never meant to hurt Greg Cheatham when he went to his apartment April 30, 1995.
After a day of deliberations, the panel on Friday found the Spokane father of two guilty of second-degree murder.
Defense attorney John Rodgers hung his head when the verdict was announced, while O’Neil’s wife and mother cried.
O’Neil, 26, was first arrested last year for assault, after Cheatham was found unconscious in the hallway of his apartment building on North Monroe.
He died the next day of “massive” head trauma, a medical expert testified. The charge was upgraded to murder.
Witnesses said Cheatham, 33, owed O’Neil money for drugs and that O’Neil promised to “kick his butt” if he didn’t pay.
O’Neil didn’t deny making the threat, but said he never meant to follow through.
He said he went to Cheatham’s apartment to talk about the debt but was attacked by Cheatham seconds after stepping through the door.
During the scuffle, O’Neil said he pushed Cheatham out of the apartment into the hallway, where the victim slammed into a wall.
“I thought, ‘Oh, man, like I really hurt this guy,”’ O’Neil testified. “But then he got up and came at me again.”
O’Neil punched Cheatham two more times and left him unconscious on the floor. Then he went to a nearby tavern and bragged about the fight to friends.
“It was just the macho thing to do,” O’Neil said. “I didn’t think I hurt him that bad.”
Rodgers said O’Neil, who has been on work release since May of last year, posed no threat to the community and should be allowed to remain free until sentencing.
“He’s been obeying the rules so far,” Rodgers said.
Superior Court Judge Harold Clarke, however, said the conviction changed the rules.
“We’re in a different posture than we were five minutes ago,” Clarke said. He sent a teary O’Neil directly to jail.
No sentencing date has been set.
, DataTimes