Son’s Girlfriend Charged in Salvatierra Killing

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office Tuesday charged 18-year-old high school senior Teressa Kay Deburger with aiding in the cover-up of the murder of Philippine News marketing director Oscar Salvatierra, whose son is charged with the murder.

District attorney’s spokesman Al Albergate said the felony charge of serving as an accessory after the fact to last Wednesday’s slaying is based on police allegations that Deburger returned a gun allegedly used to shoot Salvatierra, 41, to a residence from where it had been stolen.

Albergate would not elaborate on where the weapon was obtained, but he said it was a .38-caliber Beretta automatic. Earlier, it had been speculated by investigators that the victim had been slain with one of his own guns.

Deburger, who reportedly is Arnel Salvatierra’s girlfriend, also allegedly helped hide clothing worn by the youth after he allegedly shot his father in the bedroom of the family’s Glendale home, Albergate said.

Deburger later pleaded not guilty to the charge in a Glendale Municipal Court arraignment. A preliminary hearing was set for Friday. The accessory charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison upon conviction. Bail was set at $5,000.

Earlier in the day, Arnel Salvatierra, 17, pleaded not guilty to murder during arraignment in Pasadena Superior Court. Trial was set for April 25. The charge includes an enhancement for use of a firearm, which could increase the possible prison term of 27 years to life by two years if he is tried as an adult. The youth, wearing a gray sweat shirt, jeans and tennis shoes, sat with his head bowed and eyes closed, answering quietly, “Yes sir,” when asked if he understood the proceedings.

A hearing to determine whether Salvatierra can be tried as an adult was set for April 18. Deputy Dist. Atty. Antoinette Brown said consideration of that request was warranted because of the seriousness of the crime. If found guilty as a juvenile, the youth could face confinement with the California Youth Authority until age 25. He remains in custody without bail.

J. Thomas Hunsucker and Ray Ballister, attorneys for Deburger, would not comment on the evidence. Hunsucker said Deburger seems to “fluctuate between being somewhat up, optimistic, to being concerned about what’s ahead for her.”

Salvatierra’s murder had raised speculation that he had been killed for political reasons because of his position with the San Francisco-based, Filipino-oriented newspaper, which had opposed President Ferdinand Marcos, who was ousted from office and the country on Tuesday. A death threat mailed to the victim said he was to be “executed” because of the paper’s “unwarranted accusations and lies.”

Before the arrests the newspaper’s publisher, Alex Esclamado, said he was “certain” the slaying was a political assassination carried out by a Marcos agent. Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) and Rep. Stephen J. Solarz (D-N.Y.) also said the crime appeared to be politically motivated.

But Glendale police consider a long-standing hatred the son had for his father to be a possible motive.