Local News in Brief : Prosecutor Describes Killings Near Newhall

A Van Nuys Superior Court jury was told Monday that Steven Zimmer of Van Nuys, one of two men charged with killing three Valley residents last year, bound two of the victims together with duct tape, drove them to a remote area in Placerita Canyon near Newhall and shot them.

In his opening statement at Zimmer’s trial Monday, Deputy Dist. Atty. Burton Schneirow described the execution-style deaths on Jan. 17, 1984, of Virginia Rosenberg, 30, of North Hollywood, and Steven Migliore, 21, of Panorama City.

Zimmer is also charged with the slaying two days earlier in the same area of John Cassanelli, 28, of North Hollywood. Schneirow said all three killings were related to drugs.

If convicted, Zimmer, 36, could be sentenced to death. A co-defendant, Timothy Hoban, 30, of Sherman Oaks, will be tried separately. No date has been set for Hoban’s trial.

The prosecution’s key witness is Deborah Stalder, who told police she was a cocaine dealer who worked for Hoban. She said she witnessed one of the slayings and was granted immunity from prosecution for her testimony, which was scheduled to begin today.