‘86 Homicides Reflect Domestic Turmoil

The past year brought a series of unusual murder cases to Van Nuys Superior Court. From Robert Rosenkrantz to Torran Lee Meier to Christopher Mazurek, seven key cases that were filed as first-degree murders culminated in convictions on less serious charges, or outright acquittals.

The cases illustrate what police say is a growing trend among the middle class and affluent of the San Fernando Valley--killings involving family members and acquaintances. Several more such cases await trial in 1987.

Familial homicides account for about half the murders in the southern and western Valley but for only a small percentage in other areas of the Valley, including the poorer communities, where murders more often result from robberies, bar fights, drug dealings or gang activity, police say.

Homicides among family members or friends are the easiest for police to solve because the suspect generally admits his involvement and investigators can chart a history of strife between the parties, detectives say. But, attorneys say, they often prove the most difficult to prosecute because, lacking witnesses, the only explanation of events belongs to the accused.

‘You’re Kind of Boxed In’

“No one can tell you what was on the mind of the killer but the killer,” said Mike Carroll, head deputy district attorney in Van Nuys. “You’re kind of boxed in unless you can disprove his version of events.

“The victim can’t get up and say, ‘No, that’s not how it happened.’ ”

In each of the seven cases, the defense focused on the victim’s behavior and argued that the deceased provoked his or her own death through verbal or physical abuse. Jurors generally returned verdicts of voluntary manslaughter and said they felt sympathy for the accused, all of whom were otherwise clean-cut, law-abiding people who claimed that they were pushed beyond limits of self-control.

“Anytime you can paint a picture of a victim being anything less than a wonderful person, society, and jurors in particular, subconsciously will concentrate on those matters,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Norman F. Montrose said. “From an emotional standpoint, they will tend to reduce the charge.

“You can’t say that’s right or wrong--it’s just the way human nature is.”

Cases Overprosecuted

Some defense attorneys assert that the cases were overprosecuted and should not have been tried as murders because they fit the definition of voluntary manslaughter--a killing committed during the heat of passion or after a sudden quarrel. First-degree murder requires evidence of planning, intent and malice.

But, head prosecutor Carroll said, “We’re not backing away from the tough decision.”

Deputy Public Defender Mark Lessem said most homicides are “just accidents of time and place,” committed by reasonable people who suddenly turn irrational.

“There’s a reason why somebody gets killed,” Lessem said. “Maybe he’s a wonderful guy, but it’s a bad day and he flips out. Then the other party flips out and someone ends up dead. That’s what our society has come to in terms of violence.”

Proving First-Degree Murder

The law makes it much easier to prove first-degree murder when a homicide occurs during the commission of certain other felonies, such as robbery, burglary or rape, prosecutor Montrose said. Such killings, even when accidental, qualify as first-degree murder, Montrose said, and juries are less hesitant to convict people with a history of violent behavior.

Reflecting on the series of prosecution defeats in 1986, Carroll said he takes comfort in knowing that the penalty for voluntary manslaughter has been increased to a maximum of 11 years in state prison.

“That makes me sleep better, knowing that we’ve taken these people off the streets for a good period of time,” he said.

Robert Rosenkrantz Calabasas teen-ager accused of murder in the June, 1985, shooting death of schoolmate Steven Redman, who exposed Rosenkrantz as a homosexual on the night of his high school graduation.

Rosenkrantz, 19, testified that he had concealed his homosexuality since his early teens, knowing that his family would disapprove. He left home, he said, after his father confronted him and demanded to know if the rumors of his homosexuality were true.

Rosenkrantz said he stopped Redman on a Calabasas street, intending only to scare him into recanting his story. Rosenkrantz said he pulled the trigger after Redman called him “a faggot.”

Outcome: Convicted by jury of second-degree murder June 9; sentenced to 17 years to life in state prison.

Torran Lee Meier A Canoga Park teen-ager who, aided by two friends, strangled his mother and attempted to poison his 8-year-old half brother, then placed the two in a car that was set afire and pushed over a cliff in the Malibu mountains. The brother escaped unharmed and testified against Meier.

A string of relatives, neighbors and friends testified that Meier suffered a lifetime of psychological abuse at the hands of his mother.

She was depicted during trial as a unreasonable woman who constantly screamed at her son and was sexually provocative in his presence. Meier, 17, chose not to take the stand on his own behalf.

Outcome: Convicted by jury of voluntary manslaughter and attempted voluntary manslaughter June 24; sentenced to the California Youth Authority, where officials can release him at any time but must free him by his 25th birthday.

Nandan Lal Indian immigrant who admitted that he strangled his wife, Mandeep Kaur, in August, 1985, and abandoned her body in the desert near Barstow.

The defendant, 26, of Woodland Hills testified that his wife, also a native of India, ruled every aspect of his life and allowed him no independence, forbidding him to work or to associate with his family.

Lal said that the two argued one night in their bedroom and that he lost control and killed her. The victim’s family asserted that the death resulted from a longstanding feud between the two families in India. Kaur’s friends and relatives said Lal’s parents felt that her dowry was insufficient and that Lal was irritated because she had become too Westernized and assertive.

Outcome: Convicted by jury of voluntary manslaughter Feb. 28; sentenced to six years in state prison.

Gregory Alan Cavalli A Beverly Hills man accused of the May, 1984, murder of June Mincher, a prostitute who developed a crush on him and waged a campaign of harassment against him and his family after he rejected her advances.

Cavalli, 25, did not take the stand, but others testified that he was in Phoenix at the time of the Van Nuys shooting, hiding out from Mincher. Testimony revealed that Mincher fell in love with Cavalli and, when he rejected her, telephoned members of his family incessantly, threatening to kill him.

She was the key suspect in the firebombing of Cavalli’s car and the arson of his father’s military-surplus store, police said.

Two witnesses identified Cavalli as the driver of the getaway car at the shooting scene, but their testimony was weakened under cross-examination when it was revealed that they were associated with drugs and prostitution.

Outcome: Acquitted by jury June 19.

Mayra Melendez Lopez Live-in housekeeper accused of murder in the September, 1985, baseball-bat bludgeoning of her employer, television producer Herbert Wallerstein of Woodland Hills. On a defense motion, the charge was reduced to voluntary manslaughter by a judge before trial.

Lopez did not testify, but the prosecution played her taped interview with police. After denying any involvement for two months, Lopez finally admitted to investigators that she killed Wallerstein but claimed she acted in self-defense after he hit her for no apparent reason.

Wallerstein’s wife, called as a defense witness, told the jury that her husband struck her on two occasions during their 30-year marriage.

Outcome: Acquitted by jury July 16.

Christopher Michael Mazurek Charged with murder in the October, 1984, shooting death of his father at the Sepulveda Veterans Administration Hospital.

Mazurek, 28, a county firefighter, testified that he killed his father because he feared that his mother’s life was in danger. Testimony revealed that the victim, Walter C. Mazurek, 54, of Woodland Hills, had a lengthy history of mental illness and continually beat and threatened his wife.

The defendant said that he prayed for guidance and that God responded: “The devil must be stopped and you have to do it.”

Outcome: Convicted by a judge of voluntary manslaughter Sept. 16; sentenced to five years’ probation.

Raymond Wisecarver Accused of murder in the July shooting death of Edward Shreckengaust, who allegedly raped Wisecarver’s 15-year-old daughter.

Wisecarver’s wife also was charged with murder but the case against her was dismissed because of insufficient evidence after a preliminary hearing in October.

The defense claims that the case is a classic example of a killing committed in a state of rage and that Wisecarver, 44, should face no more than a voluntary manslaughter charge. The prosecution has expressed doubts as to whether the girl was, in fact, sexually assaulted.

Scheduled for trial Jan. 21.

Timothy S. Roman Charged with murder in the Dec. 10 beating death of his mother, Susan Cabot, 59, a leading lady in “B” movies of the 1950s.

Roman telephoned police to report that his mother’s Encino home had been burglarized and that the robber had killed her and attacked him. Police arrested the 22-year-old son, however, after he made conflicting statements about the purported burglary.

Police will not comment on the suspected motive until after the Jan. 14 preliminary hearing, but prosecutors say they expect a psychological defense.

Peter Atanasov Accused in the June shooting death of his stepdaughter’s boyfriend.

Atanasov had ordered the two to stop seeing each other after he learned that the teen-ager had spent several nights in his home.

The victim, Dane Kimball, 18, was in the Atanasov home alone one night when Atanasov and his wife returned from dinner. They told police that they saw someone with a flashlight walking inside their house and suspected they were being burglarized.

Atanasov, 37, chased the young man from the house, across the street and shot him.

The defense maintains that Atanasov did not recognize Kimball as his stepdaughter’s boyfriend and that he was within his rights to try to apprehend a suspect fleeing the scene.

Scheduled for Superior Court arraignment Jan. 14.

Robert Gibson Accused of murder in the April, 1983, stabbing of his grandmother, Florence Williams, in her Van Nuys home.

The murder remained unsolved until a year ago, when a relative went to police to report that Gibson had admitted killing his grandmother and that family members had concealed his involvement.

In statements to police, Gibson, 24, said his grandmother had mental troubles that caused marital and health problems for his parents. He said he killed her to relieve tension between his parents.

Outcome: Pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in a plea bargain Dec. 4; faces a maximum of 12 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 30.