Utah woman heads to trial for hitting ex-husband with SUV
36-year-old Brenda White blames Xanax for bizarre behavior
SALT LAKE CITY – The attorney of a Utah woman charged with ramming an SUV through an office building to hit her estranged husband says she was on a large amount of anxiety medication and was "not in her right mind."
Attorney Jason Schatz made the argument Tuesday during the start of the trial for 36-year-old Brenda Christine White.
"On that day, Brenda White's body was behind the wheel of that Ford Explorer," Schatz said. "What's in dispute is why this happened."
The incident happened in 2006 but there have been several appeals because her defense attorneys have appealed to use the argument that White was under extreme emotional distress.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that White faces charges of attempted murder and criminal mischief. The trial is scheduled to last through Thursday in 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City.
Authorities said White hit her ex-husband twice with her Ford Explorer after crashing through the office building in Salt Lake County.
Jon Robert White said he initially ran from a parking garage when he saw his ex-wife in the SUV. He said he ran between two parked cars, jumped over a concrete wall, and into an office, before his ex-wife crashed through the glass doors and hit him. He said he got up and ran but she drove down a hallway and chased him, hitting him again.
He said he hid in a closet until a maintenance man found him.
Brenda White's attorneys say she did not intend to kill her ex-husband. Schatz said she suffered from panic attacks and anxiety and on that day she had taken a lot of medication.
"At some point in our lives we have all done or said something that we wouldn't have done if we were in total control of our body," Schatz said.
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