Jury Deliberating Fate of Man Accused of Killing Two Santa Barbara Attorneys Over Luxury Home Dispute

At midday yesterday, a Santa Barbara jury was in its third day of deliberations in the second murder trial of Corey Lyons for the murder of his brother Daniel Lyons, 55, and Barbara Scharton, 48 both local attorneys.  Daniel Lyons and his longtime girlfriend were pursuing a nasty lawsuit versus Corey Lyons arising out of disputes of the couples luxury home (pic) by Corey Lyons, a builder.

What follows is an excerpt from Jim Guy's report at the Fresno Bee:

"A Santa Barbara County jury began a third full day of deliberation today in the trial of man accused of killing two Fresno attorneys, the district attorney's office said.  Corey Lyons is accused of killing his brother, Daniel Lyons, 55, and Barbara Scharton, 48. The two were shot to death May 4, 2009 in a home they owned in Santa Barbara.

Corey Lyons [was sued] in a lawsuit with his brother [, Daniel Lyons] over the 2,500-square-foot home, which [Corey Lyons] built after tearing down a 1,400-square-foot home not far from a beach. Daniel Lyons sued his brother and Corey Lyons' wife, Mildred, in October 2008, alleging that his brother's company overcharged him, dragged out the construction to milk more money from the project and broke the law by keeping a separate set of books to underreport income to the government, [, and underreported his workers' compensation.] When the project began, Daniel Lyons expected to spend less than $600,000 for the renovation, but the total cost was more than $1.2 million, the suit said.
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This story may seem humdrum to you, but to me the story illustrates the pro se lawsuit gone way-wrong, regardless of whether Corey Lyons is innocent or guilty.