Top Harness Racing Driver Case Sentenced
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: November 16, 2004

Filed at 9:40 a.m. ET
RAVENNA, Ohio (AP) -- A top harness racing driver was sentenced to
five years in prison for stabbing his estranged wife in the back with
a steak knife.
``I really screwed my life up,'' Walter Case Jr. said Monday in
court. ``I let alcohol take over my life. I wish I could take it
back.''
Case is harness racing's second winningest driver with 11,027
victories.

Case, 43, pleaded guilty in September to felonious assault. Police
said he attacked his wife on June 22, punching and kicking her until
she ran from the couple's home. He chased her into the street and
stabbed her, police said.
Nadine Case, 26, had moved out of their home two days earlier but
returned to give her husband a check to pay for horses she owned,
police said. The attack left her with a collapsed lung, and she filed
for divorce in August.
Walter Case will be eligible for release after six months, said his
attorney, Larry Whitney.
Case surrendered his license to race last year after accumulating 178
days of suspensions, most for violating the rule that calls for a
driver to keep both feet in the sulky stirrups. In March, the Ohio
State Racing Commission denied his request for reinstatement.