Slaying Suspect Says Ex-Boyfriend Had Fits of Jealous Rage

A 25-year-old Van Nuys woman accused of killing her ex-boyfriend testified Monday that the man showered her with expensive gifts and sentimental cards but grew belligerent when she spoke with other men or threatened to leave him.

A sobbing Melody Kay Runyan told a Van Nuys Superior Court jury that Lee Owens, who was 50 and had a wooden leg, pledged to hunt her down if she broke off their relationship.

“ ‘I’ll find you if it takes me the rest of my life,’ ” Runyan recalled Owens telling her in a telephone call. “ ‘You can’t hide from me.’ ”

Runyan, who waived her constitutional right to not testify against herself, admitted on the stand that she fired four bullets from a .44-caliber revolver into Owens, who was unarmed, on June 22, 1984. Her attorney, Mark Kaiserman, has asserted that she acted in self-defense after months of physical abuse from Owens.

Faces 11 Years in Prison

When she fired the last bullet, Owens looked up at her and said, “ ‘Well, you’ve killed me, Mel. I’m dead,’ ” Runyan recalled.

Runyan is charged with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting, which occurred in a shopping center parking lot at Balboa Boulevard and Saticoy Street in Van Nuys. If convicted, she could be sentenced to a maximum of 11 years in prison and an additional two years for using a gun.

Runyan testified that she was carrying the gun because she was afraid of Owens, with whom she had broken up a short time before. She said she was entering a store in the center when Owens suddenly appeared and told her he wanted to talk to her. She said she told him to leave her alone and started running when he persisted. She fired the gun when he caught up with her, she testified.

When Owens drank alcohol, Runyan testified, he frequently went into a jealous rage and accused her of flirting with other men.

“His eyes would bulge out, his face would turn bright red and he would get very belligerent in his appearance,” she said.

Under cross-examination by Deputy Dist. Atty. Linda Greenberg, Runyan said she always was afraid of Owens when he drank but continued to accompany him to bars.

“I could calm him down by talking to him and telling him that I loved him,” she said.

Although she moved out of his Van Nuys house in May, 1984, Runyan said, she continued to talk to Owens and agreed to let him fix her car.

The worst injury she suffered from Owens, she said, was about two weeks before his death, when the two got into a fight and he shoved her around and pulled out clumps of her hair.

During their three-year relationship, Runyan said, Owens bought her a motorcycle, a watch, contact lenses, a ring and food for her horse and dog. She said she concluded that Owens was “obsessed” with her and loved her more than she loved him.

In a Valentine’s Day card that Runyan read to the jury in the courtroom of Judge Melvin B. Grover, Owens had written:

“To the one who makes life worth living, one I will always cherish. I will love you forever. Love always, Lee.”

Although Owens’ daughter testified earlier in the trial that her father’s handicap hindered his mobility, Runyan said she had difficulty running from him on the night of the shooting because she was wearing high-heeled shoes.

Tells of Empty Chamber

On cross-examination, however, Runyan said she had hastily removed her shoes by the time Owens caught up with her in the parking lot.

Runyan said she first pulled the trigger with an empty chamber in the firing position. She said she had intentionally left the chamber empty so she could give him a warning and to prevent an accident. But, when Owens continued to approach, Runyan said, she fired the four rounds.

A Los Angeles police officer called to the scene by a witness testified earlier that he found Runyan near the dying Owens, hysterical and in a crouch with the gun between her knees.

Runyan testified that, despite her fear of Owens, she continued to live with him because “he loved me and he needed somebody, and I did, too.”

“He told me he would change,” she continued. “He would beg me to stay with him, and I had no place else to go.”