European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 22, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine Billy Shrubsall right and his attorney leave the county court House alter placing an innocent plea. The tragic Saga of an All american boy by John f. Bonfatti associated Pressa t the close of his valedictory address to the Lasalle High school s class of 1988, Billy Shrubsall penned a tribute to his Mother Marianne Marge Shrubsall. On a personal note. I would like to thank my Mol Hor. Who taught me my reach should exceed my grasp to wrote. Thank you.  the words of gratitude Lor a Patent who pushed a son toward academic excellence went unspoken however. Twelve hours before he was to give the speech police say. Shrubsall bludgeoned his Mother to death with a baseball Bat. Instead of crowning an accomplished High school career that brought him to the top of his 250-member class at Niagara Falls. By Shrubsall found himself in jail charged with second degree murder and the City known for its awesome waterfalls found Itsell trying to understand the tragedy. When i heard the first thing i said was. No Way it was t Bill " says Billy Hartman. A classmate who knew Shrubsall for six years. It still does t seem True to me  adds another Friend ferry Adamec he had everything going Lor him a class valedictorian would t do something like that. He was the smartest Guy in the whole  when the Case comes to trial probably in Early summer defense attorney Paul g Cleary won t dispute that Shrubsall clubbed his Mol Hor several times with a baseball Bat in the Early morning of june 25, 1988. While an automatic Pica of innocent was entered in the Case. Cleary will Likely reprise a defense he used successfully in a highly publicized Case in nearby Allegany county several years ago in that Case Leslie Emick was convicted of second degree manslaughter in the shooting death of her common Law husband while he slept in the family motor Home. Cleary s Legal approach Emick was the victim of a battered wife syndrome and finally snapped after years of brutal sexual torture at the hands of her Boyfriend. The battered woman syndrome applies also to other types of violence or abuse within a household Cleary says. The thread he says is physical and or mental domination in which the abuse develops almost a total dependence on the abuser the Shrubsall Case has elements of both physical Billy Shrubsall s valedictorian address at Lasalle High school was to have included a tribute to his Mother. Monday May 22,1989 and mental domination. Cleary says. Although Shrubsall is a sturdy 6-footer. His Mother outweighed him by More than 100 pounds. The evidence of mental domination is clearer. Marge Shrubsall was always a strict authoritarian figure in the Home according to friends and she had become even More so after the death of her husband William three years earlier. Her anal for her son was academic excellence. We All knew How the Mother pushed him says a neighbor Tony Kobler. She expected him to be a  Cleary would not permit an interview with Shrubsall but in a statement he gave police following the killing Shrubsall said he began to rebel against his Mother s strict House rules and she responded with violence. The More you so Call brow beat her the More you argue your Point the worse she gets until she gets to the Point where she starts to hit me. And i mean i have been hit several  he told police. Her hits ranged from slaps to  David Zacher a Friend of Shrubsall s since Junior High school says he had bruises on his arms and i never really thought about it  the situation grew More tense when Shrubsall entered his first serious romantic relationship with 15 year old Gretchen Rowe. Mrs. Shrubsall was not Happy about the Romance according to a statement Rowe gave police. She has also accused him of Loving me More than her but that s wrong because he did love his Mother very much she said. The night before his graduation Shrubsall was at Rowe s House. Told to be Home by Midnight he was late after going Back to retrieve some things he d left at the girl s House. Mrs. Shrubsall was in her car in the driveway ready to drive to the Rowe House to get her son when he arrived according to the police statement a healed argument ensued inside the House with mrs. Shrubsall calling Rowe a slut and him slime according to Shrubsall. She started to Call Rowe to demand that the two end their relationship. When Shrubsall tried to Stop her she elbowed him and he pushed Back. Shrubsall told police his Mother the i threatened to kill him and backed him Down a hallway. Feeling she was going to strangle him Shrubsall said he turned around and picked up the first thing and i hit her a lot of times. So Many times out of fear and then alter that i Don t know. I was genuinely scared and i was protecting Mysell " Cleary said that while some May have lied the situation state Law does not impose upon a person the duty to Retreat when confronted with a threatening situation in his or her own Home Niagara county District attorney Peter Broderick whose office will prosecute the Case does t think that a defense patterned after the Emick Case will work. I would think that s an awfully Tough defense to establish even in a spousal situation never mind a Mother and son he says. Broderick called Shrubsall s statement to police loaded with self serving declarations while he said he could see a lot of background circumstances which probably dictated his conduct they Are not enough to justify his  while both sides say there has been no attempt at plea bargaining second degree manslaughter charges were added in a second grand jury indictment possibly setting up a situation where Shrubsall might plead guilty to lesser charges. Broderick says plea bargaining is discussed in almost every Case but frankly i have a lot of difficulty with that at this  that s because a manslaughter plea would make Shrubsall eligible Lor Youl Hull offender status he says and that minimizes the penalties significantly. The maximum then becomes nine years As opposed to 25." but Broderick also realizes the problems of trying a defendant whom even the police have called an ail american Type with no previous record. Sometimes it s easy it s Clear Cut said Broderick a lot of times it s not very easy and in this Case it s  � the stars and stripes Page 13