Son guilty in murder of mother, 72

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The man charged with killing his mother by running over her while she was on an ambulance gurney last year was convicted Wednesday of capital murder. Shaun David Samuelson will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The verdict and sentence came down a short time after the case went to the jury. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty. The trial started on Tuesday.

The case went to the jury before lunchtime Wednesday in state District Judge Jim Coronado's court came nearly one year after Virginia Samuelson's death. 

Pam Swanson, a co-worker and friend of Virginia Samuelson, said the woman worked to help her son, but was hurt in return.

"She should have been retired and enjoying years of relaxation," said Swanson. "She was working 40+ hours to support somebody who was abusing her."

On the evening of Sept. 29, police and emergency medical workers were treating 72-year-old Virginia Samuelson at the intersection of Lamar Boulevard and Lamar Square Drive. She suffered injuries to her face and neck, according to Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services workers who responded to the scene.

According to police accounts, Shaun David Samuelson was fighting with his mother about money.

EMS was taking photographs of Virginia Samuelson's injuries as she lay on a gurney, when they heard the sound of a truck accelerating toward them. The vehicle did not slow down and collided with the gurney, dragging the woman and the gurney beneath the truck for about 30 feet.

At the time, police said Shaun Samuelson got out of the vehicle and ran, but officers caught up to him.

EMS workers were taken by surprise at the incident, and many were upset about the sequence of events that happened as they treated Virginia Samuelson.

According to public records, the family had a history of violence. A protective order was filed in 2006 after an incident wherein Shaun Samuelson was accused of hitting his mother in the head with a metal rod after an argument concerning the remodeling of his condominium.