Jury Acquits Man, 24, in Slaying of Prostitute

A Beverly Hills man was found not guilty of murder Thursday in the Van Nuys slaying of a love-crazed prostitute who waged a campaign of harassment against him when he refused her advances.

The defendant, Gregory Alan Cavalli, 24, broke down in tears when the verdict was read in Van Nuys Superior Court just one hour after the jury had begun deliberations. His family erupted in applause in the courtroom of Judge Darlene E. Schempp.

“I feel great. It’s such a relief,” Cavalli said.

Jurors said afterward that the prosecution witnesses, most of whom were associated with drugs or prostitution, lacked credibility.

Woman Slain in 1984

Cavalli was accused of the May, 1984, fatal shooting of June Mincher, 29, of West Hollywood, and the wounding of her companion, Christian Pierce, 24, of Encino. The two were gunned down on the sidewalk in front of an apartment building on Sepulveda Boulevard just north of Vanowen Street.

The jury also found Cavalli not guilty of attempted murder in the attack on Pierce.

Testimony during the 2 1/2-week trial revealed that Cavalli and Mincher developed a relationship over the telephone after he answered her advertisement for sexual services in a sexually oriented newspaper. Both thought that they were in love after talking almost daily for four months, witnesses said.

But when Cavalli finally met the prostitute and discovered that she weighed nearly 250 pounds, he was repulsed by her and rejected her, witnesses testified.

Harassment After Rejection

Scorned, Mincher incessantly phoned Cavalli and several of his relatives, threatening to kill him, police and family members testified. She was the key suspect in the firebombing of Cavalli’s car and the arson of his father’s military-surplus store, but police had insufficient evidence to make an arrest, investigators said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Andrew W. Diamond alleged during the trial that Cavalli drove the getaway car while another man, who has never been apprehended, shot the pair. Two eyewitnesses identified Cavalli as the driver.

However, jury foreman Warren D. Sortomme of Sherman Oaks said the two witnesses lacked credibility and the jury discounted their testimony.

One of the eyewitnesses admitted on the stand that he was a cocaine addict at the time of the shooting and could have made a mistake in his identification. The other witness first told police that he could identify the shooter but not the driver.

Defense witnesses testified that Cavalli was in his Phoenix apartment at the time of the shooting.

Cavalli, who said he has been unemployed during the trial but will look for work as a salesman, said he felt bitter that he was prosecuted.

But, Diamond responded: “We had two eyewitnesses and lots of motive.”