Son Admits in Courtroom to Stabbing TV Evangelist

As television evangelist George Vandeman looked on, his son surprised a Ventura courtroom Friday by admitting he stabbed the clergyman in the back last month in Thousand Oaks.

Ronald L. Vandeman, 43, pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon as he prepared to face his father during a preliminary hearing stemming from the April 11 knife attack. In an earlier court appearance, he had pleaded innocent.

George Vandeman, 68, is a Seventh-day Adventist clergyman who has been host of “It Is Written” since originating the religious TV show 29 years ago.

Diagnosed Schizophrenic

The younger Vandeman will face sentencing May 31. Although he could receive a four-year prison term, Ventura County prosecutors said they will recommend that he be placed in a mental institution instead.

Donna Walters, a deputy district attorney, said Ronald Vandeman has been diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia, a mental disorder that can cause delusions and hallucinations.

“He’s had this for 22 years and has taken medication to control it,” Walters said. “But he had come down with hepatitis and his medication had been changed when this occurred.”

Recuperating With Parents

She said Vandeman had lived at a Glendale board-and-care home until contracting hepatitis and moving into his parents’ residence to recuperate.

Ronald Vandeman, shackled at the ankles, did not look at his father as he entered his guilty plea. Unable to post $100,000 bail, he has remained in jail since his arrest.

George Vandeman, who said he is still recovering from the stabbing, sat silently during the proceedings next to Harold Reiner, a fellow Adventist minister credited with saving Vandeman’s life during the attack.

‘Ron’s a Big Fella’

Reiner said he noticed the pair struggling as he drove past the Vandeman home and stopped in time to pull the younger Vandeman off his father.

“Thirty seconds later, it would have been too late, I’m pretty sure,” Reiner said after the incident. “Ron’s a big fella. . . . I don’t think he would have backed off for anyone else.”

Authorities said Ronald Vandeman used a six-inch kitchen knife in the attack. Although its blade was bent when it struck a bone in the elder Vandeman’s back, the wounds themselves were “superficial,” prosecutor Walters said.

Attack Called Unprovoked

She said both Vandeman and Reiner had been scheduled to testify during Friday’s hearing--called to determine whether Ronald Vandeman would be ordered to stand trial on the assault charge.

After the hearing, George Vandeman said the attack came without warning or provocation. He expressed relief that his son may face institutionalization rather than imprisonment.

“Naturally, our concern is for Ron,” Vandeman said. “His mother and I love him dearly and want the best for him. I’m recovering. And I thank God for the privilege.”

During that recovery, prerecorded editions of Vandeman’s weekly half-hour show are being televised by about 100 stations in the United States, Canada and Australia, according to church officials. About 15 advance installments of the program had been taped at the Seventh-day Adventist Media Center in Newbury Park before the attack.