‘I’m not a criminal’ says wife facing 50 years in jail

Published on Wednesday 18 January 2012 00:00

A SCOTS university lecturer facing up to 50 years in a United States prison over the death of her husband has spoken for the first time about the shooting, and said she was “not a criminal”.

A jury in Maryland found that Joanna Findlay’s husband, Gary Trogdon, shot himself.

But Findlay, originally from Blairgowrie, Perthshire, was convicted of attempted murder and felony handgun charges in November last year after a four-day trial.

A jury decided she had shot at Mr Trogdon before the former US Air Force officer turned his gun on himself.

St Mary’s County Circuit Court heard that the couple had a fight after Findlay found more than 3,000 images of child pornography on his computer.

She is currently on bail awaiting sentencing while background reports are prepared by probation officers.

Findlay said she was “terrified” of the lengthy prison term she faces. She could be sentenced to up to 50 years.

She will serve her sentence at the Jessup Women’s Prison in Maryland, with at least a year before any appeal is heard.

Findlay, 41, said yesterday going to a tough jail was “the worst thing” that could happen.

She said: “I am terrified at what sentence I will get. I am told the best-case scenario is a mandatory minimum of five years on the handgun charge, and it’s not subject to parole.

“Losing my freedom is the worst thing that can happen to me, because it takes away so many possibilities from my life.”

Findlay, a former student at Dundee College and Aberdeen University, left Scotland 15 years ago on a student exchange.