Ramona

The son of a Ramona man charged with killing his wife and a female friend was given immunity from prosecution Friday and testified that he helped carry the body of the friend out of the house.

Additionally, the brother of Russell Klein, 37, testified that Klein confessed to him that he had killed both women.

After hearing that testimony, San Diego Municipal Judge Robert Stahl Jr. ordered Klein to stand trial on two murder charges. A trial date will be set June 29.

Klein is charged with killing his wife, Susan Klein, 36, between June and August, 1983, and killing Ann Milyard, 37, in August, 1983. Their bodies were discovered in shallow graves in April and May on Klein’s property on Magnolia Avenue in Ramona.

Seth Klein, 19, told the judge initially that he didn’t want to testify unless he talked to a lawyer first. He later won a grant of immunity from Superior Court Judge Wayne Peterson.

Seth Klein testified that when he was 15, his father told him that Milyard was dead and asked for his help in removing the body. He said he saw Milyard’s body wrapped in a blanket and a plastic wrap in the house.

“My father wanted me to help him move it out there, so I helped him,” said the son.

Seth Klein testified that his mother disappeared one day, but added that that was not unusual. He said his mother frequently left the area and was gone for days. She once was gone for a month, he said.

“Then, about two weeks later, he came to me and told me what happened. He just told me she was dead,” Seth Klein said.

His father didn’t tell him how his mother had died or what the circumstances were, his son testified.

The defendant’s brother, Ronald Klein, 41, testified that Russell Klein told him he killed both women accidentally while beating them.

“What did Mr. Klein tell you happened to Susan Klein?” asked Deputy Dist. Atty. Bill Collins.

“He said that he had accidentally killed her. They had an argument and he struck her,” Ronald Klein said.

He said his brother told him that Susan Klein refused to go to a hospital after suffering the injury, and later woke up “and said goodby to him and died.”

Russell Klein is being held in County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.