Trial Delay Leads to Reversal in 1976 Slaying of Psychologist

Psychologist Eugene Clarence Hartman, 56, convicted of second-degree murder in the 1976 death of his boss, John Langlos, has been freed by the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles.

The Hayward, Calif., man’s 1983 conviction was the climax of a long battle by Langlos’ widow to persuade authorities that her husband was the victim of murder and not a heart attack.

In an opinion issued late Wednesday and written by Justice Armand Arabian, with Justices Joan Dempsey Klein and George Danielson concurring, the court reversed Hartman’s conviction on the ground that the district attorney’s delay of seven years in charging Hartman with murder illegally prejudiced his right to due process.

Not only did witnesses who could have provided Hartman an alibi die or disappear, Arabian said, but the coroner’s office “pathetically ‘misplaced’ ” Langlos’ brain and heart after autopsies.

Found Dead

When Langlos, a 52-year-old psychologist, was found dead under his desk at the Lakewood Park Psychiatric Health Center on Feb. 2, 1976, death was attributed to a heart attack, even though his wallet was missing and three buttons were torn from his shirt.

Hartman was charged with grand theft later that month because he cashed a $100 check drawn on Langlos’ account, identified himself with Langlos’ driver’s license and credit cards, and used Langlos’ credit card to purchase a watch and airline tickets. He pleaded guilty to the charges and was fined $500, credited with 34 days spent in jail and placed on five years’ probation.

However, he was not charged with murder until April, 1983. Over the intervening years, the victim’s widow, Ruth Langlos, hired private pathologists, forced authorities to conduct an inquest and persuaded the Board of Supervisors to ask the district attorney to reopen the case.