Lawyer: bank robbery hostage begged for her life

Published October 16, 2014 6:35pm ET



STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) — A lawyer for the family of a California woman taken hostage during a bank robbery and killed by police in a shootout says she begged for her life.

Attorney Greg Bentley said Thursday that video footage from the Stockton bank shows Misty Holt-Singh pleading with kidnappers to let her go because she has a family.

The 41-year-old mother of two was found dead at the end of the July 16 robbery.

Police have said a preliminary investigation shows Holt-Singh was shot by officers, likely during a final gunbattle where the lone surviving suspect used her as a human shield.

Bentley says the 600 bullets shot into the suspects’ vehicle were excessive.

Police have defended officers, saying they were under constant fire and worried the violence would escalate.