Rehearing Sought in Murder Case
The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana will be asked to reconsider its decision that reversed the murder conviction of a youth in the 1983 slaying of a San Diego police officer.
Charles Tyberg’s trial had been held in Santa Ana because of extensive publicity about the case in San Diego. He was convicted of shooting to death Police Officer Kirk Johnson.
The Court of Appeal last Thursday threw out the lower court’s murder conviction, ruling that police obtained a confession from Tyberg through coercion and trickery.
Harley Mayfield, an assistant state attorney general, said a petition for a rehearing will be filed with the court within a week.
Tyberg allegedly was wearing the uniform and service revolver of his stepfather, a retired San Diego County sheriff’s deputy, when he is said to have shot Johnson at close range. Tyberg was 16 at the time of the shooting.
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