Accused in Bludgeoning Death : Suspect Faces Third Murder Trial

A 35-year-old Sherman Oaks man who has twice been convicted of the 1979 murder of a transient, only to have the guilty verdicts overturned on appeal, is going on trial a third time in Van Nuys Superior Court.

Jury selection began Wednesday in the case of Edmund Arthur Asbury, whose two convictions were reversed by a state appeal court decision that he received incompetent counsel at both earlier trials. Asbury defended himself in the first trial and was represented by a deputy public defender in the second.

Asbury is accused of bludgeoning John Jackson, 58, with a 4-by-4 board while Jackson was sleeping in a Van Nuys parking lot.

Different Charges

He initially was charged with first-degree murder and the special circumstances allegation of murder during the commission of a robbery, which could have made him eligible for the death penalty upon conviction.

After a series of court actions, however, Asbury now faces a single charge of second-degree murder. If convicted, he faces up to 16 years to life in state prison.

Testimony is expected to start early next week.

The victim, who lived at a Salvation Army shelter in Van Nuys, was found with his skull fractured and his pockets turned inside out in a parking lot in the 13400 block of Oxnard Street in the predawn hours of May 21, 1979, Deputy Dist. Atty. Donald G. Goldsobel said. Half an hour later, Asbury was stopped by patrol officers who suspected that he was driving under the influence of alcohol.

Evidence Noticed

Asbury was carrying the victim’s wallet, and his clothes and shoes were splattered with blood that matched the victim’s blood type, Goldsobel said. Asbury’s fingerprint was found on the rear bumper of Jackson’s car, he said.

Asbury, who denies involvement in the killing, is being represented by Carol Weissman of the Alternate Defense Counsel of Van Nuys, which sometimes handles cases in place of the public defender’s office.

He was convicted in April, 1980, of first-degree murder and robbery, but the jury rejected the special circumstances allegation. In May, 1984, he was again found guilty of first-degree murder and robbery.

Appellate court rulings resulted in dismissal of the robbery charge, which left the prosecution with no showing of a motive for the killing, Goldsobel said. As a result, the murder charge was reduced to second-degree, he said.

Asbury, who has been in custody since his 1979 arrest, is being held without bail.