A traveling nurse who slammed her Mercedes into a crowded South Los Angeles intersection at 131 mph has been convicted of murder after jurors rejected her defense that she suffered a seizure behind the wheel.
The verdict sparked gasps and sobs from victims’ relatives in the courtroom Friday afternoon. The jury deliberated for approximately three hours.
Prosecutors argued that Nicole Linton, 41, was upset with coworkers and considering leaving her job at Kaiser Permanente in West Los Angeles when she drove down La Brea Avenue. As she approached the intersection of La Brea and Slauson Boulevard, prosecutors said Linton “floored” the gas pedal before crashing into multiple vehicles.
The fiery collision killed six people: Nathesia Lewis, 42; Lynette Noble, 38; Asherey Ryan, 23; Ryan’s 11-month-old son, Alonzo; and Ryan’s boyfriend, Reynold Lester, 23. Ryan was more than eight months pregnant, and Linton was also charged in connection with the death of her unborn child.
Prosecutors described the crash scene as horrific, with burning car parts scattered across the intersection, blood on the pavement, and black smoke filling the sky. They said the impact ripped Ryan’s fetus from her womb and sent Alonzo’s car seat flying.
The prosecution argued that Linton’s decision to stop taking her bipolar medication and go without sleep contributed to the crash. Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Antonella Nistorescu pointed to previous incidents of violence and reckless driving when Linton was off her medication, including an alleged incident in which she slapped a woman and drove through red lights at speeds of up to 100 mph.
“The only person who could have prevented this is Nicole Linton,” Nistorescu said during closing arguments. “The only person who knew that when she got behind the wheel of her Mercedes that she was under the same stressors, exhibiting the same symptoms that had led her, before, to engage in violent aggressive actions that brought harm to others.”
Linton’s defense argued that prosecutors were turning a tragic accident into a criminal case. A neurologist and psychiatrist who examined her weeks after the crash testified that she suffered a seizure and lost control of the vehicle.
Defense attorney Jovan Blacknell urged jurors not to decide the case based on the emotional impact of the crash.
“The results were catastrophic. The images are visceral. And the loss of life was horrendous,” he said. “But as much as I do want to acknowledge what occurred, and acknowledge the people who were injured, the people who died, those images don’t help you answer the question you are here to answer.”
Prosecutors disputed Linton’s seizure claim, noting that she had never been diagnosed with epilepsy and that a medical test conducted after the crash showed no abnormal brain activity. They also alleged that she tried to fake a seizure during the test.
Blacknell countered that no medical professional had concluded Linton was “malingering,” or pretending to have a medical condition for personal gain.
Linton now faces multiple life sentences.