Manslaughter Ruled in Boater’s Death

SANTA ANA — A Dana Point man faces a sentence of 16 years in prison for gunning down a boating enthusiast he believed was having an affair with his estranged wife, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Prosecutors had sought a murder conviction against Robert Sherwood, 43, but Orange County Superior Court Judge Donald McCartin ruled Tuesday that Sherwood was guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the March, 1992, slaying of Randy Lee DeVore.

Sherwood’s wife, Marny, a San Juan Capistrano city employee, denied during the non-jury trial that she had been having an affair with DeVore, an avid sailor and experienced sailboat racer and crew member. However, she admitted that she and DeVore had engaged in “some kissing and a little pawing” shortly before the slaying. Marny Sherwood said she was unhappy in her marriage and was seeking a divorce when DeVore was killed.

But Deputy Public Defender E. Robert Goss Jr. disputed her claims. Goss said Robert Sherwood was trying to make his marriage work but repeatedly found evidence of a romantic relationship between his wife and DeVore.