Judge Finds Evidence in Slaying Insufficient to Seek Death Penalty

A Van Nuys man accused of murdering a woman by stabbing her 11 times with a knife and striking her eight times with another implement will not face the death penalty if convicted because insufficient evidence exists to prove torture or attempted rape, a judge ruled Monday.

If convicted, Richard Burch Jr., 31, could face a maximum of 25 years to life in prison, plus six more years if a jury finds that he used a knife and committed previous felonies. Burch’s trial is scheduled for Oct. 7 in Van Nuys Superior Court in the Feb. 19 stabbing and strangulation death of Kathleen McCafferty, 25, of Van Nuys.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Simon R. Hiller argued Monday for findings of special circumstances of torture and attempted rape in connection with the slaying. If the court had concurred in either of those findings and Burch were convicted, a jury would have been asked to impose the death penalty or life imprisonment without possibility of parole.

But defense attorney Bernard J. Rosen argued that the brutality of the killing alone does not define torture.

Insufficient Evidence Found

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Darlene E. Schempp ruled that insufficient evidence exists to show that the suspect intended to inflict extreme and prolonged pain. Courts have interpreted that such evidence is necessary to support the finding of torture, she said.

The number of wounds could have been caused by “an explosion of violence” in the heat of passion, rather than by a calculated attack, Schempp said. Evidence of attempted rape was “extremely thin” and “much too speculative,” she said.

The trial will hinge on the testimony of the victim’s 8-year-old stepson, Hines Buchanan III. The boy testified at a preliminary hearing in July that he heard his stepmother call his name, got out of bed and saw the suspect sitting on top of her on the floor of her apartment, beating her while her wrists were bound above her head.

McCafferty kept calling her son’s name, the boy testified, but the suspect repeatedly told him to go back to bed. At one point, the boy went into the kitchen, pulled a butcher knife from a drawer and threw it at the suspect, but the man blocked the knife with a chair, Buchanan testified.

Thrown Against Table

The suspect then threw the boy against a living-room table and ordered him to his room, according to testimony. He remained in bed until early the next morning, when he arose and found his stepmother dead outside his bedroom, Buchanan testified.

The victim was found wearing a bloodstained blouse and bra, but was naked from the waist down, investigators said. However, an examination found no evidence of penetration.

A medical examiner’s report concluded she had been stabbed 11 times with a knife--possibly the knife the boy threw at the suspect--and struck eight times with another instrument in and around her left breast. She also had been strangled and had the impression of a shoe on the left side of her face, the report says.

The suspect is an acquaintance of McCafferty’s common-law husband, Hines Buchanan Jr., the boy’s father, who was in jail on a narcotics charge at the time of the killing, prosecutor Hiller said.