Woman Convicted of Hiring Pair to Kill Father : Courts: The two men are also found guilty of murder in the death of a retired Mission Viejo stockbroker. All face the possibility of life in prison without parole.

SANTA ANA —  After less than two days of deliberations, a jury convicted a woman Wednesday of hiring two men to kill her father in the Mission Viejo home they shared. The two men were also convicted of first-degree murder in the death of 72-year-old David Werner, a retired stockbroker.

The jury also found the three--Deborah Werner, 43, Miguel (Mike) Ruiz, 22, of Huntington Beach and Charles Clemmons, 21, of Anaheim--guilty of the special circumstance of murder for financial gain.

As a result, all face the possibility of life in prison without parole when they are sentenced Dec. 4 by Superior Court Judge Donald A. McCartin. If the judge removes the special circumstances, which is considered unlikely, each defendant faces a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

Prosecutors charged that Deborah Werner, who felt she was psychologically abused by her father, paid several friends of her daughter $3,000 using a personal check that she later placed a stop payment order on. David Werner was found smothered, beaten and stabbed in his bed on April 15, 1989. Ironically, at the time of his murder, David Werner was only months from death by natural causes, prosecutors said.

One of the prosecution’s witnesses was Carrie Marie Chidester, a 21-year-old Huntington Beach woman who pleaded guilty last year to her role as a go-between in the killing. She received a maximum 11-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter. Deborah Werner’s daughter, Cindy Diebolt, is awaiting trial for solicitation to commit murder.

In reaching their verdict, jurors cited the “overwhelming evidence” presented by the prosecution, including Deborah Werner’s and Ruiz’s telephone records and Clemmons’ bloodstained jeans, as well as testimony of Cindy Diebolt’s friends, a group of drug-taking, unemployed young people in Huntington Beach who frequented an after-hours dance club.

Forewoman Carlyn Hampton-Causer, 20, of Huntington Beach said the defense offered “no major denials” to the prosecution’s case.

“I think the prosecution did an awesome job.” Hampton-Causer said.

Another juror, Catherine L. Caine, 24, of Costa Mesa, said: “There was just so much evidence that the prosecution presented, just so many witnesses. . . . All of it was really corroborated.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. David L. Brent called the verdict “appropriate,” and complimented the jury.

“We had a lot of evidence and they were able to sift through the evidence and it didn’t take them very long,” Brent said.

David Werner left a negligible estate, Brent said, the chief asset of which was a $30,000 insurance policy, which was divided among three beneficiaries, including his daughter.

Deborah Werner’s attorney, Jack M. Early, was not in court when the verdict was read. During the trial, Early argued that Werner’s loose talk about her father’s abuses, alcoholism and illness may have led her daughter and others to plan the killing without her knowledge.

Miguel Ruiz family members were in the courtroom when the verdict was read but they declined comment. Ruiz’s attorney, Gary L. Procter, said he couldn’t find fault with the jury’s verdict, adding that “my heart goes out to the family of Mr. Ruiz. It’s hard enough being a parent, than have to go through what they’re going through at this moment. . . . My heart feels very heavy for how this has happened to affect the family of a loved one.”

Clemmons’ attorney, James G. Merwin, said he was “disappointed, of course,” by the verdict, “but I expected it.”