Professor in Chain Saw Case Blames Mystery Man

A professor accused in the shooting death and chain saw dismemberment of a homosexual prostitute blamed the killing on a mysterious acquaintance who, the professor said, acted in self-defense, according to documents made public Tuesday.

The disclosure came as Max Bernard Franc, 58, a professor of public administration at California State University, Fresno, was ordered to stand trial for the Aug. 20 murder and robbery of Tracy Leroy Nute, 18, whom authorities have described as a would-be actor and male prostitute.

In two tape-recorded statements given to a Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide detective shortly after his arrest, Franc offered two rambling and occasionally contradictory versions of what happened the night Nute was killed.

In both statements, however, Franc portrayed himself as an unwitting dupe who was caught up in the crimes of his friend, whom he identified as a young “street person” named Terry Adams.

Doubts He Exists

Deputy Dist. Atty. Sterling E. Norris, who is prosecuting the case, has said he does not believe that Adams exists.

Transcripts of Franc’s statements became public when they were accepted as evidence by Los Angeles Municipal Judge David M. Horwitz, who presided over Franc’s three-day preliminary hearing.

Horwitz accepted the statements over the objections of Franc’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Mark Kaiserman, who contended that his client had not been properly advised of his rights before the statements were recorded by a detective.

In the second statement, given Sept. 1, Franc told Detective Stanley A. White that Adams shot Nute twice in the living room of Franc’s West Hollywood apartment, dragged the body into Franc’s bathroom, and cut off the arms and legs with a hand saw Franc kept under his sink.

Franc said he had run into Nute at a Santa Monica Boulevard hot dog stand and had invited him to the apartment, hoping to recover a $40 debt. Franc said he collected $10. That statement is the basis of the robbery charge. In the meantime, Franc said, his friend Adams arrived.

Waving Knife Around

“I was in the kitchen and, I don’t know, uh, it seemed like some kind of fight was ensuing . . . ,” Franc told White. “And I came out into the living room near the couch, and there I realized that Tracy (Nute) had a--had a knife. . . . He was waving it around. . . . (He) looked like he wanted to knife Terry (Adams).”

Franc continued: “And suddenly I realized that Terry had a gun in my hand.” Correcting himself, he added, “--a gun in his hand.”

“A gun in his hand?” White asked.

“Yeah,” Franc said, “that sounds like a slip, doesn’t it.”

Adams shot Nute in the abdomen, Franc said. When Nute began whining and “making noises,” Adams shot him again, this time in the head, Franc said, “ . . . to shut him up.”

At Adams’ urging, Franc said he left his apartment in the 1000 block of North Genesee Avenue for about 2 1/2 hours, and returned “numb with fear.”

Adams told him, “We’ll just . . . sprinkle these (body) pieces around, you know, and nobody’ll ever be able to figure out who the corpse was,” Franc told the detective. He added, “I guess that was the crime of mine. I went along with the idea.”

The next day, Franc said, Adams sent him to a Hollywood equipment rental agency to rent a chain saw to cut up the rest of the body.

In his earlier statement, Franc had said he rented the chain saw because Adams had mistakenly killed an expensive dog that belonged to an unnamed organized crime figure in Beverly Hills. Adams told him he needed the saw to cut up the carcass to avoid detection, Franc told authorities.

Body Parts Found

Nute’s head and torso were found along a rural highway in Madera County on Aug. 25, four days after Franc rented the chain saw. Nute’s arms and legs were found near the Golden State Freeway in Valencia two days later.

Franc was arrested Aug. 29, after the rented saw was returned to Jack Rents on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood bearing traces of blood and flesh.

The manager of the rental agency testified Monday that the saw was returned by a young blond man, a man who definitely was not Franc. Franc’s attorney has suggested that the real murderer was the man who took back the saw.

But in both statements to investigators, Franc said he returned the saw to the rental firm.

During questioning by Public Defender Kaiserman, Detective White said that Franc had twice asked him if he would represent Franc in court. White said he explained to Franc that he was investigating Franc and could not act as his attorney. Despite that, White said he believed Franc fully understood his constitutional rights before he discussed the case with authorities.

Dismisses Allegation

Horwitz dismissed one of two special circumstance allegations against Franc. Citing a California Supreme Court decision, the judge said he could not find that Nute’s killing was a “particularly heinous crime.” Horowitz allowed to stand a second special circumstance allegation that Nute was killed during the commission of a robbery.

If a jury finds that allegation to be true, Franc could be eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

Arraignment for Franc, who is being held without bail, is set for Dec. 2 in Los Angeles Superior Court.