Templeton man found guilty of murder in girlfriend's stabbing death

A jury found a Templeton man guilty of second-degree murder Friday afternoon in the monthlong trial in the stabbing death of Tina Marie Beddow.

Beddow, 32, died after suffering a single stab wound to the chest June 4 at the home on the 400 block of Eric Lane that she shared with boyfriend Philip Thomas Hanes.

Hanes, 58, sat motionless in San Luis Obispo Superior Court as jurors found that he did murder Beddow but lacked the malice and premeditation necessary for a first-degree murder conviction.

Jurors did find that Hanes used a deadly weapon — a fillet knife — in the crime, which will add at least a year to his sentence.

The jury could have found him guilty of lesser crimes of voluntary or involuntary manslaughter.

Assistant District Attorney Lee Cunningham said following the verdict that Hanes’ conviction carries a possible sentence of 16 years to life in prison.

He will not be eligible to apply for parole for 16 years regardless of his sentence, Cunningham said.

After the jury left the courtroom, Deputy District Attorney Greg Devitt, the main prosecutor in the case, requested that Hanes continue to be held without bail at the San Luis Obispo County Jail as he awaits his sentencing hearing. Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Duffy granted the motion.

Hanes was arrested on the night of June 4 after deputies received a 911 call from Beddow claiming Hanes stabbed her after she tried to leave him. Deputies arrived to find Beddow mortally wounded and lying in a pool of blood in the kitchen.

She died on the way to the hospital.

Hanes maintained throughout the trial that Beddow was hallucinating in the midst of a drug-fueled psychosis and came at him with the knife. He said Beddow was stabbed accidentally as the two grappled for the weapon.

Devitt characterized Hanes, a former engineer for PG&E, as misogynistic and controlling and argued that he became enraged when Beddow tried to leave him. Several investigators testified that Hanes tried to clean the house while Beddow lay bleeding.

Following the verdict, Cunningham said the jury’s verdict was appropriate.

“It was always our belief this was a murder,” Cunningham said. “As to first- or second-degree (murder), those are the kinds of things only the jury can decide based on the facts. I think they did their job.”

Hanes’ defense attorney, Ilan Funke-Bilu, said he was disappointed.

“It’s better than first degree, in that sense. But when you truly believe your client is not guilty of the crime, it’s a really hard pill to swallow,” Funke-Bilu said.

He added that he had no regrets about his defense strategy but said aspects of Hanes’ defense was stymied by what the court ruled was presentable in the case.

“I don’t think this jury received the entire picture,” Funke-Bilu said “We were handicapped, and the jury didn’t know it.”

He said those issues will be central to Hanes’ appeal, which he plans to pursue “vigorously.”

Hanes is due back in court Feb. 9 for sentencing.

This story was originally published January 9, 2015 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Templeton man found guilty of murder in girlfriend's stabbing death."