ROCKLAND, Maine — A 71-year-old man convicted July 21 of attempted murder for pushing his wife off Maiden Cliff in Camden more than three years ago has been ordered to serve 10 years in prison.
Justice Joyce Wheeler sentenced Charles Black to 25 years in prison with all but 10 years suspended and placed him on probation for six years.
Wheeler said this was a difficult case in that she heard so many good things about Black, but that the crime he committed was insidious and dangerous. She said that if victim Lisa Zahn had not gotten caught up on a ledge when she was pushed, this would have been a much more serious case.
District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau had asked that Black get 27 to 29 years with all but 15 years suspended.
Rushlau argued that Black was self-absorbed and self-indulgent. He pointed out how Black struck his now ex-wife Zahn in the back of the head three times with a rock, then dragged her to the edge of the 800-foot Maiden Cliff and pushed her off on April 7, 2011.
Evidence produced at the trial showed that Black reconnected in 2010 with his former high school girlfriend, whom he had not seen in 50 years, and that the two were having an affair. Testimony also showed that Zahn had inherited $4 million in 2010, and that Black had been spending some of that money without her knowledge.
“This series of betrayals of his marriage were steps toward the ultimate betrayal,” the prosecutor stated.
During Thursday afternoon’s hearing in Knox County Superior Court, Zahn, who has since divorced Black, described the impact the crime has had on her and her family.
“It’s been a living nightmare to accept that the man I loved and married very nearly succeeded with his plan to kill me,” Zahn said.
Her daughters also testified about how Black was controlling and constantly critical of their mother and them. They also told the judge that they were afraid while he was free on bail he would come to the house and harm them.
Defense attorney Walter McKee did not ask for a specific sentence but said that it should be far less than what the prosecution was seeking because of the good things Black has done in his life and because of his age and health.
McKee pointed out that Black has no criminal record and referred to letters that stressed the positive impact that Black had on the lives of many students during his career as a teacher.
Nine letters also were submitted to the court in support of Black and asking for leniency. The letters came from a doctor, lawyer, minister, retired teacher and former students of Black. Many of those people also spoke on Black’s behalf at the hearing.
Dr. John Lewis of Camden said in one letter that he knows Black as a learned, kind, gentle and compassionate man “whom I would trust with my life.”
Attorney Joseph Beckerman of Missouri said he has known Black for 20 years.
“I believe Reed made a once-in-a-lifetime mistake in judgment and he is not a danger to society,” Beckerman said in his letter.
Black’s daughter-in-law Deborah Black recounted a story about how before Christmas in the year that the incident occurred, Black withdrew $1,000, dressed as Santa Claus and gave out $100 bills to strangers he believed were in need outside J.C. Penney.
“I don’t believe for a minute that he committed this crime,” she said.
Rushlau countered after she spoke that the money was Zahn’s and not his. Wheeler later said that it was not certain whose money Black was handing out.
The prosecutor said it is common in domestic violence cases for a person to have one personality in public and another in private.
After Black pushed his wife off the cliff, she landed on a small ledge 10 feet below the top of the cliff. She then managed to slide, fall, climb down, and hike to Route 52, where she flagged down a passing motorist. Charles Black fell from the cliff and also was severely injured.
Wardens located him about two and half hours later. Both were hospitalized for eight days, and Black was arrested upon his release from the hospital.
He also was convicted of the lesser offenses of elevated aggravated assault and assault.
Black did not testify at his jury trial but did speak briefly at Thursday’s hearing, maintaining that he has no recollection of what happened on Maiden Cliff but that he takes responsibility.
McKee said after the hearing that he would consult with his client about whether to appeal the conviction or sentence.