D’Agostino Sought to Sway His Story, Deputy D.A. Claims

The “Twilight Zone” involuntary manslaughter trial was thrown into confusion Tuesday when the former prosecutor in the case, Gary P. Kesselman, testified that his successor, Lea Purwin D’Agostino, tried to pressure him into supporting the testimony of a key witness.

The judge delayed further testimony in the trial, now in its seventh month, until this morning while the district attorney’s office determines whether yet another prosecutor must conduct the cross-examination of Kesselman and possibly take over other portions of the case.

In his dramatic appearance as a defense witness, Deputy Dist. Atty. Kesselman, who withdrew from the case in late 1985 for personal reasons, told jurors of a heated exchange in D’Agostino’s office in September following the testimony of her first witness, production secretary Donna Schuman.

Before the meeting, Schuman had stated on the witness stand that she had once heard director John Landis, one of five co-defendants, say, “We’re all going to go to jail” for illegally hiring two children who were killed during the filming of “Twilight Zone: The Movie.” Defense attorneys grilled Schuman about why she had not testified about the jail comment in pretrial hearings.

The next morning, Kesselman said, D’Agostino called him and said, “Of course you know Mrs. Schuman told you these ‘going to jail’ statements” back when he was handling the case.

But Kesselman, a 14-year veteran of the office, said Schuman had not told him about any such statement by Landis.

D’Agostino proceeded to call him into her office, Kesselman recalled, closed the door and appeared “very agitated.”

“She said to me: ‘Look. It’s the two of us in the office . . . You’re not important. I’m not important. Schuman is not important. The only thing that’s important is this case.’

“And I said, Lea, if you are even implying that I would commit perjury for this case, you’ve got the wrong guy.”

While Kesselman testified in September without the jury present, on Tuesday he provided far richer details--and notes--of his several exchanges with D’Agostino.

D’Agostino also testified in September without the jury present, but Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Roger W. Boren has thus far denied a defense request that she return to the stand in front of jurors.

Boren indicated Tuesday that he could still change his mind about D’Agostino testifying.

In her September appearance, D’Agostino backed Schuman, saying that Schuman told her in July, 1986, that she had told Kesselman about the jail remarks and that Kesselman also said he would deliberately withhold the statements from the defense to avoid “tipping his hand.” Kesselman, attacking Schuman’s credibility, testified Tuesday that he never told her he would withhold evidence. Kesselman added that the current prosecutor never even asked him about Schuman’s alleged statements between July and September, 1986, when the trial began.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Peter A. Bozanich, who sat through Kesselman’s testimony, said later that Tuesday’s delay was sought in part to make a final decision whether he--and not D’Agostino--would cross-examine Kesselman because D’Agostino’s credibility was attacked by Kesselman. The delay was announced after lawyers in the case met privately with Boren for 20 minutes after the defense concluded questioning Kesselman.

“They’re concerned about the ethics of what’s going on and they don’t know whether they can proceed or not proceed,” said defense attorney Eugene L. Trope, who represents helicopter pilot Dorcey Wingo.

There is even the possibility that the state attorney general’s office would have to take over the prosecution or that the case might have to be dismissed outright, asserted defense counsel Harland A. Braun, who represents associate producer George Folsey.

“What is a deputy district attorney going to argue?” Braun said following the session. “That another deputy district attorney is lying?”

Before resting her case last month, D’Agostino called 71 witnesses in an attempt to prove that Landis and four others acted with criminal negligence on the film set in 1982. Actor Vic Morrow and two child actors--who the defense admits were hired illegally without state permits--were killed when a helicopter struck by special-effects explosives fell from the sky and crashed on them.