Templeton man takes the stand in murder trial

December 19, 2014

knife crimeA Templeton man on trial for murder testified Thursday that his girlfriend was the aggressor during a fight that let to her death. [Tribune]

On June 4, Tina Marie Beddow, 32, suffered single stab wound to the chest. The stabbing occurred at the home Beddow shared with Phillip Thomas Hanes, 58, and his 5-year-old grandson.

Beddow died on the way to the hospital after the stabbing. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s deputies promptly arrested Hanes for murder.

On Thursday, defense attorney Ilan Funke-Bilu called Hanes to testify, and the defendant gave his account of his girlfriend’s death.

Hanes said in his testimony that Beddow had been hallucinating prior to her death. During an incident in April, Beddow hallucinated that people were outside the couple’s home watching her, Hanes testified.

Hanes then drove her to the hospital, where she was combative with hospital staff, he said. Doctors subsequently diagnosed her with methamphetamine-induced psychosis.

On the day of the Beddow’s death, the couple was fighting. Beddow threatened to cut off Hanes’s genitals, frame him for domestic violence and get him thrown in jail, Hanes testified.

Soon after, Hanes saw Beddow waving a filet knife. He tried to wrestle it away from her by grabbing the hand holding the knife, and the couple fell to the floor during the struggle, Hanes said.

The next thing Hanes saw was the blade sticking out of Beddow’s chest, he testified.

Hanes said he immediately pulled it out and applied pressure to the wound with a bath towel. Prior to police arriving, Hanes moved the knife to the sink and then back to floor.

He said he did so because he did not want to disturb the crime scene.

Cross-examination of Hanes began Thursday. When asked by the prosecution whether he could have murdered Beddow, Hanes said he does not believe that is what happened.

The prosecution’s cross-examination is scheduled to continue on Friday.


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I feel sorry for 5-year-old grandson…


I don’t believe she stabbed herself accidentally.

I don’t believe he stabbed her accidentally.


There are two sides to every story. Let’s wait to hear her side before we make any decisions. Oh yeah, we can’t. She’s dead. Guess we’ll just have to all believe his “plausible” story. There was no signs of meth in her body at the time of the murder! But well since she was doing meth in April I guess that’s proof enough she was ‘whacked out’ in June. My point is I know this man and he is a liar and a sociopath. It will be a sad day for justice if he gets off. Oh well, OJ got off so maybe he will too. If so, hopefully a wrongful death suit will be filed in behalf of her children and he will no longer be able to have his materialistic lifestyle hiring and paying for his hundreds of thousands of dollars attorney. So very sad that our justice system is based on who can pay the most ruthless attorneys and our county prosecutors are only as good as we can afford to pay them with our meager taxpayer money.


Most are not trained and qualified to disarm an assailant with a knife. A drug induced assailant waiving a knife with unnatural kadence may have complicated challenges too. The assumption is that the lady had the knife first? Any priors? Any witnesses? Who does the cooking?


Sounds expensive.


Plausible. Sounds like she was wacked out.