Director Contradicted 23 Witnesses, D’Agostino Says : Landis Blatantly Lied, Prosecutor Tells Jury

Asserting that “Twilight Zone” film director John Landis contradicted at least 23 other witnesses during four days of testimony at his involuntary manslaughter trial, Deputy Dist. Atty. Lea Purwin D’Agostino on Wednesday branded Landis’ testimony as “nothing more than one huge, blatant lie.”

D’Agostino, in her second day of final arguments, indicated to jurors that because portions of Landis’ testimony were “willfully false,” they can disbelieve everything he told them as they deliberate his fate.

Landis and four associates are accused of criminal negligence in the 1982 film set deaths of actor Vic Morrow, 53, and child actors Renee Chen, 6, and Myca Dinh Lee, 7. The three perished when struck by a helicopter that crashed after being hit by the fireball from a special-effects explosion.

D’Agostino, who addressed the jury for about three hours Wednesday, after speaking for two hours Tuesday, said she expects to conclude her argument today. Defense attorneys will then present their side, and D’Agostino will have a chance for rebuttal before jurors begin their deliberations.

In her remarks, D’Agostino cited testimony from an array of witnesses that she said contradicted Landis’ testimony. The witnesses included camera operators, production assistants, casting directors, fire safety officers, the first assistant director, a special-effects crew member and the parents of the dead children.

The parents, for example, denied that Landis ever told them that their children would be placed in proximity to explosives and a helicopter, she emphasized.

In an attempt to keep the attention of jurors during her detailed analysis, D’Agostino scrawled on a chart the names of each witness that she said Landis contradicted. The prosecutor labeled the chart, “Persons lying according to Landis.” By day’s end, the names stretched across four large sheets that had been tacked to a bulletin board.

After the court session, Landis’ attorney James Neal told reporters that be believes Landis contradicted only three or four witnesses “in any significant way.” Pressed further, Neal acknowledged that Landis had also contradicted the parents, but he added, “To me, it’s very understandable they would say they didn’t know certain things.”