VAN NUYS : Son Sentenced in Woman’s Fatal Fall

A Van Nuys man who authorities said had a history of violent disputes with his mother was sentenced to six years in state prison Wednesday for killing the 61-year-old woman by pushing her out a second-story window.

Under a plea bargain, William Morris, 37, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the Aug. 10, 1991, death of his mother, Marjorie Morris.

Prosecutors said evidence strongly indicated that Morris, an unemployed truck driver, pushed his sickly mother out of his apartment window during a quarrel. Morris had been convicted three times since 1988 of assaulting his mother, authorities said.

Defense attorney James Blatt argued that Marjorie Morris may have fallen out the window, which was only one foot off the floor. No one saw Morris throw her from the window. Blatt said Morris, who was addicted to cocaine and alcohol, had argued frequently with his mother about money for drugs during the six years they had lived together.

Before sentencing, Morris told Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Leon Kaplan that he had been too drunk to remember the incident.

Morris faced a maximum of 11 years in prison under the manslaughter charge, but Kaplan gave him a lighter sentence because a psychiatrist’s report indicated Morris had a substance abuse problem.