Murder suspect undergoes surgery after hurting herself with staples

A Sparks woman accused of killing her husband in Fallon was hospitalized recently for harming herself while in the Churchill County Jail, according to her defense attorney.

Paul Drakulich told District Judge Robert E. Estes Tuesday that Devonya Sasha Camara is now at Lake's Crossing for a mental evaluation. He said his client was taken to a Reno hospital March 24 for treatment.

"Miss Camara was able to remove staples from court documents and was using them to injure herself," Drakulich said. "She had to be taken to Reno to have (the staples) surgically removed because they couldn't do it at the local hospital."

She harmed herself while waiting to be transferred to a mental hospital in Sparks for a mental evaluation. Camara couldn't be immediately accepted because of overcrowded conditions, the attorney said.

"Right now we're just trying to get her mental condition stabilized," he said.

The mental exam will show if Camara knew the difference between right and wrong when she allegedly shot David Camara Jan. 30 alongside Highway 50 west of Fallon.

The evaluation will also determine if the defendant is mentally competent to stand trial and assist Drakulich in her defense.

Camara, 29, allegedly shot David Camara once in the chest with a 9 mm Glock pistol during an argument. He died at the scene.

Camara admitted shooting David when deputies arrived at the murder scene, a police report states. She had blood on her face, hands and clothing, police said, and told deputies to take her to jail.

She has remained in custody in lieu of $500,000 cash bail since.

In a separate court proceeding recently, District Judge David A. Huff extended a temporary restraining order that prohibits Devonya Camara from selling any assets jointly owned by her and David Camara to raise bail money.

At that time, the judge also advised the defendant to hire an attorney to represent her in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Robert Camara and Susan Turnshek, David Camara's parents.