A state appeals court panel Tuesday upheld the murder conviction for a woman who drove under the influence, then left the scene of a crash that trapped her friend in an overturned car submerged in Tecolote Creek.
Jennifer Rae Xavier, 25, was convicted by a San Diego jury of murder, hit-and-run and other charges for causing the March 4, 2021, crash that killed 21-year-old Sidnie Waller. Waller and Xavier were childhood friends from the San Jose area, but both were living in San Diego at the time.
Prosecutors alleged that after the women went out to bars in Pacific Beach that night, Xavier got behind the wheel while drunk and under the influence of Xanax.
Prosecutors say that after veering off southbound Interstate 5, Xavier walked from the scene of the wreck and onto the freeway while drenched in water and was picked up by a passing motorist who was unaware of the crash.
Waller remained injured in the overturned vehicle and was pulled out by firefighters. She died at a hospital days later.
Xavier was sentenced last year to 19 years to life in state prison.
On appeal, Xavier’s attorneys claimed multiple errors occurred during her trial, but all of those contentions were rejected by a three-justice panel of the Fourth District Court of Appeals.
Among the issues Xavier’s attorneys highlighted was the inclusion of text messages that Waller sent to her brother and a friend, in which she stated that Xavier was drunk and had taken “a bar,” meaning Xanax. Xavier’s attorneys claimed some of these messages should not have been shown to the jury because it wasn’t clear whether those statements had any connection with Xavier’s driving.
Some time after those messages were sent, Waller sent others that stated she was “terrified” because Xavier was speeding, swerving, and nearly struck other cars. The appellate court ruled that the trial judge was reasonable in finding that “Waller was describing her present impression that Xavier was currently driving dangerously while impaired by the effects of alcohol and Xanax.”
Xavier’s attorneys also contend the evidence wasn’t sufficient to convict her of murder, in part because she did not have a prior drunk driving conviction.
Typically, those convicted of DUI receive a “Watson advisement,” in which defendants are informed by the court that they can be charged with murder if they commit another DUI offense and someone dies.
Though Xavier never received the Watson advisement, the appeals court said she was aware of the dangers of drunk driving, as she admitted in text messages to a friend that she previously drove drunk and crashed her car.
“I could have literally killed someone or myself,” Xavier wrote in the text message.
Xavier also disputed her hit-and-run conviction because the evidence suggested she left the crash scene in a daze, possibly due to injuries sustained in the crash. The appellate court wrote that Xavier appeared to have the wherewithal to flag down a motorist, then later coherently speak with police officers.
Xavier’s appeal also alleges numerous instances of prosecutorial misconduct, though the appellate panel rejected those arguments. Many of those issues stemmed from various questions posed to witnesses, including one witness who saw the crash and opined the driver was likely drunk, and another witness who claimed Xavier told her she drove home while “blacked out.”
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