Woman pleads guilty to manslaughter after running over boyfriend

A woman accused of driving over her boyfriend and killing him has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

Maylien Doppert, 42, appeared for a virtual court hearing Friday and admitted to striking James Dutter in her Mitsubishi Mirage, sending him flying into the air.

“Is that what you did?” District Judge Tierra Jones asked the defendant in court on Friday.

“Yes,” Doppert said.

Under the terms of the deal, Doppert faces one to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. She also is eligible for probation.

In late November, officers and paramedics were called to a condominium complex near West Desert Inn Road and South Arville Street. They found Dutter on the ground, seriously injured, in a pool of blood. He had no sensation in his legs or his left arm, but he was conscious.

Dutter told police that he and his girlfriend were breaking up, and that he was packing his Mustang with his belongings when Doppert arrived. The couple started to argue, with Doppert accusing him of stealing her belongings. He said he initially avoided being hit as Doppert drove at him, but Doppert ultimately reversed her car and struck him.

She was first indicted in February on one count of murder with a deadly weapon in connection with Dutter’s death.

Last month, District Judge Michael Villani dismissed the murder charge, ruling that prosecutors improperly presented statements that Dutter gave to police after he was hit.

The judge agreed with defense attorney Josh Tomsheck, who argued that when Dutter, 42, spoke to police days before he died in November, his statements were not subject to cross-examination and thus would be inadmissible at trial.

Prosecutors said Dutter threw a television at Doppert’s car to avoid being hit and heard her rev the engine before he was struck.

“Defendant’s admission that she hit Dutter with her car after they were arguing indicates that she had motive to hit him and acted willfully and intentionally,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Hagar Trippiedi wrote in court papers.

Tomsheck could not be reached for comment Friday, but he previously told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that this has always been an unusual case.

“It was readily apparent after reviewing the record that this indictment was fatally flawed,” he said. “On behalf of Maylien, I am very glad that the court thoroughly reviewed the pleadings, applied the appropriate law and made the correct decision in dismissing the charges.”

Doppert is out of custody and scheduled to be sentenced in January.

Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @ByBrianaE on Twitter.