Murder Conviction of Mentally Ill Man Sought

A Ventura County prosecutor asked a jury on Thursday to convict a mentally disturbed man of first-degree murder for allegedly strangling his girlfriend.

Prosecutor Richard Simon told jurors in his closing argument that Tommy Welch was angry, jealous and determined to get back at 45-year-old Marsha Rockvam after she broke off their five-month relationship in August 1997.

Welch, 47, of Ventura, broke into Rockvam’s room and choked her for three to five minutes, Simon said.

But the defense offered a starkly different theory of the killing.

Welch told jurors he and Rockvam were engaged in erotic asphyxiation, being choked during sex. Welch said he passed out on top of Rockvam during the act and awoke to find her dead.

During closing arguments, defense attorney James Farley suggested that his client accidentally smothered Rockvam. At most, he said, Welch, who was abused as a child and suffers from a mental illness, is guilty of manslaughter.

The jury is expected to begin deliberations today. Earlier this week, a separate jury concluded that Welch was competent to stand trial despite his mental illness.