She killed her boyfriend then ate a burger. Now, at 72, she wants a new trial or death
A 72-year-old local woman convicted of murder wants a new trial or to be put to death.
Deborah Hubbard-Sarvis requested those options in her handwritten, post-conviction relief document filed in Horry County this week.
She is serving a life sentence at Graham Correctional Institution for the 1991 killing of her boyfriend.
Post-conviction relief is a legal process where those convicted of a crime often ask for a new trial because of an issue with their lawyer.
Hubbard-Sarvis wrote she wants a transfer to a different prison, a new trial, a modification of her sentence “or lethal injection.” She underlined the word “or.”
Hubbard-Sarvis said she faces life-threatening conditions in prison because of an ineffective lawyer, according to her appeal. She also referenced new evidence in the case, though the initial paperwork did not provide further details.
Other appeals by Hubbard-Sarvis were all rejected.
In March 1992, Hubbard-Sarvis — who at that time went by Sarvis — was sentenced to life in prison for the shooting of Oscar Nobles Jr. According to The Sun News stories of her trial, police said she shot Nobles several times and officials found his body in the yard of her S.C. Highway 90 home.
Then-Solicitor Ralph Wilson Sr. called Hubbard-Sarvis the meanest person he’s ever met, according to news coverage. He also said Hubbard-Sarvis was so cold that she ate a hamburger after the shooting.
Hubbard-Sarvis’ attorney at the time said the killing was the only way to stop physical abuse.
Hubbard-Sarvis also was a suspect in the killing of her husband, John Clifton Sarvis, in 1990.
This story was originally published February 22, 2019 at 7:38 AM.
