Notorious Murder Case: Abortionist Tried Twice on Murder Charges

1979: Dr. William Waddill, a prominent Huntington Harbour obstetrician, was charged with strangling a fetus delivered after an unsuccessful abortion on an 18-year-old high school student. The frightened young woman had to push her way through throngs of protesters and glaring camera lights outside the Santa Ana courthouse to testify against Waddill in two headline-making trials that focused public attention on the abortion debate raging across the country. Prominent celebrity lawyer Charles Weedman, who once defended singer Claudine Longet in the shooting death of her lover, skier Spider Sabich, arrived at the courthouse on many days in a limousine. Prosecutor Robert Chatterton quoted poet Dylan Thomas in his final argument. It was high drama. Twice, Waddill was tried on murder charges. Twice, the jury deadlocked. Orange County Judge Byron K. McMillan ultimately dismissed the case against Waddill in 1979 after the second hung jury.
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Posted by Editor at November 21, 2009 01:00 AM