Retiree agrees to six-month sentence in death of 74-year-old
By Emanuella Grinberg
Court TV
 |  Schuss speaks with attorney Jayne Weintraub Tuesday. |
(Court TV) -- Retiree Seymour Schuss accepted a plea agreement Tuesday that spared him a possible 15-year jail sentence and circumvented a retrial on manslaughter charges for a squabble at a Florida cinema that turned fatal.
The 70-year-old snowbird from New York will serve six months in jail and six-and-a-half years on probation for the death of 74-year-old Irving Rosenberg, after a Broward County jury declared themselves "hopelessly deadlocked" during February 2004 deliberations.
"Seymour Schuss wanted an end, emotionally, physically and financially, to this ordeal," Schuss's attorney, Jayne Weintraub, told Courttv.com. "This was a tragedy for both families, undeniably, and Mr. Schuss wanted to bring it to an end."
Schuss's plea stems from a November 8, 2002, incident in which he punched Rosenberg while the two waited on line to buy tickets for the 7:10 p.m. showing of "Never Again" at the Tamarac Cinema 5.
Schuss and his wife, Yvonne, were in line for tickets behind Rosenberg, a retired insurance salesman, as he fumbled to get his money together. Yvonne Schuss reportedly grew impatient and told Rosenberg to hurry up.
The situation escalated quickly as Rosenberg allegedly told Yvonne Schuss to "shut up." The defense maintained that Schuss, who suffers from a degenerative vision disorder, perceived the comment as threatening to his wife and lunged at Rosenberg.
Several witnesses for the prosecution testified they held Schuss back, but he ultimately landed a punch on Rosenberg's chin that knocked him to the ground. Rosenberg later fell into a coma and died 16 days later from a perceived brain hemorrhage.
Juror Barbara Fletcher-Murphy said in February that the jury could not agree on whether the stroke Rosenberg died from developed as a result of Schuss's punch.
"The sixth juror was just stuck on Dr. [Michael] Baden's testimony, and would not move from that," said Fletcher-Murphy, referring to a defense forensic pathologist who testified that Rosenberg's death was not a result of a trauma. "He was convinced that the man probably had an aneurysm."
Schuss turned himself over to authorities immediately after the proceedings finished to begin serving his sentence.
"It was his choice, this wasn't anything intentional," Weintraub said. "This was one horrible moment in 70 years of this man's life."
