More than three years after Sheldene Campbell was arrested for causing a fatal hit-and-run rampage in White Plains, a jury for her murder trial will be selected on Monday.
Campbell, a 40-year-old mother of two who lived in Pomona before her arrest, is charged with intentionally striking and killing 65-year-old Marie Bucci on Oct. 19, 2008, moments after hitting 46-year-old Roseanne Schiavone in an Acura MDX.
She was indicted on felony counts of second-degree murder and attempted murder, first-degree attempted assault and leaving the scene; and misdemeanor counts of leaving the scene and third-degree assault.
Campbell has been held at Westchester County jail in Valhalla since Oct. 29, 2008, when her bail was raised to $200,000. After she was indicted on a murder charge, her bail was revoked.
The case against her hit a snag when Westchester County Judge Susan Cacace dropped the murder and assault charges in July 2009, saying there wasn’t enough proof that she meant to kill and hurt her victims. An appeals court overturned her ruling and reinstated the charges in January 2010.
Another delay came as the defense raised questions about Campbell’s mental capacity. Two psychologists who examined Campbell testified at a competency hearing last year that she was fit to stand trial, despite having schizophrenia and hearing voices telling her she will win her criminal case.
Campbell, a former court reporter for the state Workers Compensation Board in New York City, still has charges pending against her in New Jersey. Three weeks before the fatal collision in White Plains, she was arrested in Woodcliff Lake, N.J., accused of driving over a lawn, almost hitting a jogger, abandoning her 10-year-old son and assaulting a police officer. She was hospitalized for a week.
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