Couple Saw Huffman Chase Man Who Broke Into Their Car at Park

David Huffman’s split-second decision to chase a man who had broken into an elderly couple’s parked car led to the actor’s stabbing death last week at the end of a secluded Balboa Park canyon, police said Friday.

The couple who say they were involved in the rapid chain of events leading to Huffman’s slaying have come forward with the first description of the assailant, police Capt. Wes Allen said.

That description--of a clean-shaven Latino man in his 20s; 5 feet, 6 inches to 5 feet, 8 inches tall; with black hair, and a generally well-groomed appearance--has become the centerpiece of the investigation into the Los Angeles actor’s death, a probe that now includes $25,000 in reward money raised by Huffman’s friends and fellow actors.

Allen, head of the investigation, said the couple, identified Friday only as elderly and from another city, have told police they were leaving the park at 11:20 a.m. Feb. 27 when they came upon a man who had broken into their locked car. The car, parked in a lot behind the Organ Pavilion, was only a few feet from where Huffman sat playing the bagpipes in the front passenger seat of his van.

After the couple confronted the thief, he fled on foot, and Huffman jumped from his van to offer assistance, police said. Not knowing what, if anything, the man had stolen, Huffman returned to his van and sped from the parking lot in pursuit of the man.

Huffman stopped a few seconds later, left his van parked in a red zone, and chased the man into Palm Canyon, a steep-sloped area covered with palm and eucalyptus trees and shrubbery. Police believe Huffman cornered the man at a fence bordering the park’s archery range. There, the two men struggled briefly before Huffman was stabbed twice in the chest with a thin, sharp instrument, probably a screwdriver, police said.

Huffman bled to death within minutes. The man he chased had been interrupted before he could steal anything from the couple’s car. The couple, whom police would not identify, waited near Huffman’s van for a short time before leaving the park, Allen said. Huffman’s body was found about 90 minutes later by a group of schoolchildren on a nature walk in the canyon.

Allen said the couple left San Diego the next morning, before news of Huffman’s death was made public. A friend read of the slaying in a newspaper, called the couple and prompted them to call police with their story Monday.

At a press conference Friday at the Old Globe Theatre, where Huffman had starred in the production of “Of Mice and Men,” several of the actor’s friends and associates gathered with officials of Crime Stoppers Inc., the 6-month-old group that videotapes re-enactments of crime scenes to be shown on local television stations.

Actor Charles Haid, who plays street cop Andy Renko on the popular television series “Hill Street Blues,” said he had known Huffman since the two had roles in a Purdue University production of “Dracula” in the early 1970s.

Haid said Huffman “was an all-American guy . . . a very handsome, virile, athletic guy with a great sense of righteousness.” He said he was not surprised to hear that Huffman died while trying to help someone in need.

“What happened to David Huffman could happen to anyone in this room, anyone in this city,” Haid said. “We are asking someone to come forward to help us find the person who killed our friend.”

Sharon Siegel, a longtime friend of Huffman, read a statement from his widow, Phyllis:

“Although David’s profession makes his death more visible, it is no more heinous than the overwhelming number of violent crimes sustained by law-abiding members of our society. This reward encourages punishment for the crime and hopefully will be a step toward the restitution of order in our society.”

Andy Siegel, an independent producer from Los Angeles, said the $25,000 reward fund was raised by about 75 individuals and businesses, mostly in the Los Angeles area, where Huffman lived. He said the donors were “people who want to take control and send a message to criminals: We want justice for injustice.”

The Crime Stoppers group spent Friday taping a new segment of the crime’s re-enactment, using the information provided by the couple and other witnesses who have come forward. The segment will be shown on San Diego television stations beginning Monday.