SANTA ANA, Calif.—A 62-year-old man has been sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for gunning down his wife in front of a Lake Forest hotel two years ago, according to court records obtained Oct. 14.
Orange County Sheriff’s Department deputies were called at 1:15 p.m. on June 10, 2020, to the Hilton Garden Inn Irvine Spectrum at 23158 Lake Center Drive on a report of a man shooting a woman.
When deputies arrived, they found 43-year-old Cindy Whyte of Laguna Niguel mortally injured outside the hotel with Philip Douglas Whyte talking on his cell phone next to his Kia Optima, according to court papers.
Several people in the parking lot said Whyte shot the victim, according to court records.
Whyte told deputies that he wrote what happened in a document titled “The Life of Michael and Cindy’s Relationship” that was in his car.
He wrote in the document “20 years of marriage I’ve invested everything I own body and soul,” according to court papers filed by his defense attorney Jessica Sweeny.
“My wife took everything I own, left me with an STD herpes virus,” he wrote, according to Sweeny.
An autopsy of the victim showed she did not have herpes, but Sweeny said an expert reported only a blood sample and not a swab of the body could show whether she had the sexually transmitted disease.
Whyte also wrote in the document that his health was declining and he needed surgery to his eyes and that his rent and bills were past due and his car was about to be repossessed.
“I have no family to turn to or friends,” Whyte wrote, adding that he had his son and daughter.
The document was not evidenced in the trial, but text messages he exchanged with the victim that conveyed much of the same point were seen by jurors, who deliberated for about two hours before reaching a verdict.
Whyte was convicted in June of first-degree murder with a sentencing enhancement for the discharge of a firearm causing death and sentenced Oct. 11, according to court records.
Two sisters of Cindy Whyte wrote victim impact statements describing how close the family was.
Kerneisha Beckles said she and her sister would speak every day despite living in separate countries.
When their mother died from an asthma attack in 1990, “Cindy became the glue that held the siblings together,” Beckles said.
Being the eldest, Cindy Whyte would share memories of their mother because her siblings were too young to remember her.
“Cindy always looked out for her siblings,” Beckles said. “She never forgot us and we never grew apart even though she lived in another country.”
She added that her sister “was literally my best friend,” and, “now that she is gone I struggle daily as no one else has the time to lend a listening ear like she did.”
Cindy Whyte was a “fashionista,” who had a passion for fashion and was the go-to on what to wear, her sister said.
“Cindy was a kind, loving, caring, selfless soul who always put others in front of herself,” Beckles said.
Whenever she hit a rough patch in her life, “She would say, it’s OK, I'll figure it out,” because, “she never wanted to burden anyone,” Beckles said.
