Turk Gets 16-Year Term in Hollywood Man’s Death

A 20-year-old Turkish national was sentenced Friday to 16 years in state prison for the slaying of Marshall Sowder, a Hollywood man whose body has not been found.

Musa Has was sentenced for his conviction on nine counts--including voluntary manslaughter, forgery and fraud--by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael A. Tynan.

When he was arrested last fall, Has told authorities that he had been picked up on Hollywood Boulevard in the spring of 1984 by Sowder and eventually moved into the 67-year-old man’s apartment.

Driving Victim’s Car

Has, who was driving Sowder’s car and using his belongings, claimed that the missing man had not yet returned from a Hawaiian vacation.

But Sowder, a retired steel company executive, never reappeared, and investigators found bloodstains matching Sowder’s blood type in his living room and bedroom.

Before sentencing, Has read a handwritten note to Tynan in which he reiterated his claims of innocence and requested that he be deported rather than imprisoned.

“I’ve been a victim of circumstances, a victim of my ethnicity,” Has asserted. “Where is the evidence that shows Marshall Sowder is dead? Where is there evidence that proves I did it?”

Asked Judge to Be Removed

Has, who told authorities he had engaged in a homosexual affair with Sowder, also asked that Tynan and Marilynn A. Van Dam, the public defender who represented him, be removed from the case.

Tynan, however, rejected the last-minute requests and sentenced Has to the maximum term sought by the prosecutor, Deputy Dist. Atty. Raymond D. Mireles.