Photo: San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office
A California man has been convicted of “orchestrating” the 2018 murder of a podiatrist whom he blamed for his wife’s death following a failed procedure.
Robert Elmo Lee, 83, of Lodi, was found guilty of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of murder for financial gain in connection to the killing of Dr. Thomas Shock, San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar announced Thursdayin a press release.
“The conclusion of this case sends a clear message that my office will hold those who harm members of our community accountable to the full extent of the law,” Salazar said in the release.
Lee and Stewart are due back in court for sentencing on May 16.
Prosecutors alleged that Lee concocted the murder-for-hire plot after his wife Bonnie Lee died in June 2016 from an infection in her foot.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage?Click hereto get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
The warrant also stated that John Fairchild, Lee’s friend of 30 years, had dinner with Lee a year prior to contacting authorities on Sept. 11, 2018, during which Lee told Fairchild that he blamed Shock for his wife’s death and was “angry” about it.
As investigators conducted their search of Lee’s residence, Lee denied his involvement in Shock’s death but said he “was glad that he was dead,” per the warrant.
Two other men — Raymond Jacquett IV and Christopher Costello — have pleaded guilty to crimes in connection to the Lodi podiatrist’s death.
In July 2019, Jacquett was convicted of second-degree murder,according to KRCA. Jacquett, who was the alleged getaway driver, was sentenced to 15 years in prison that December,CBS Sacramentoreported.
In 2021, Costello was found guilty of first-degree murder, per the outlet. Costello’s residence was the subject of the aforementioned search warrant.
source: people.com
