Lawyer for Claudine Longet in shooting trial dies

LINDA DEUTSCH
AP Special Correspondent

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Charles Weedman, a Los Angeles lawyer who gained international fame representing singer Claudine Longet in the shooting death of her ski champion lover, has died.

Weedman’s son, Jonathan, said the 86-year-old criminal defense lawyer died Wednesday night after a five-year bout with Parkinson’s disease.

Longet, whose wispy beauty and French-accented singing voice gained her a following, was charged with manslaughter in the killing of Olympic skier Vladimir “Spider” Sabich in Aspen, Colorado, in 1976.

Weedman, a highly respected member of the Los Angeles bar, was summoned in 1977 to defend Longet. The case was a harbinger of sensational celebrity cases to come as members of the news media from around the world crowded into the ski resort and overflowed the tiny courtroom.

The defense achieved a legal victory as the jury convicted Longet of the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide, a misdemeanor. Weedman argued the shooting was an accident and called both Longet and her ex-husband, singer Andy Williams, to testify.

Longet was sentenced to 30 days in jail, which she was allowed to serve on consecutive weekends. She later married the local co-counsel on the case, Ron Austin.

Weedman is survived by his wife, Judith Newman Weedman, and sons Jonathan, Robert and Jeffrey Weedman. Services will be private.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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