2 Ex-Wives of Convicted Killer Tell Jury He Beat, Raped Them

Prosecutors could find nothing in police files about Andrew McCarter, a 31-year-old Anaheim roofer, when he was arrested on suspicion of the rape and murder of a Cal State Fullerton graduate two years ago. But testimony Monday in the penalty phase of his trial showed that they did discover a great deal not reported to police.

Two of McCarter’s ex-wives--one from Arkansas and the other from Texas--testified in the penalty phase of his trial Monday that he beat them, then raped them on occasions after they had separated from him. One of the ex-wives testified that she was raped and nearly killed by McCarter twice.

Four Orange County women testified that McCarter made forceful sexual advances toward them also but backed off when they resisted.

One of the four said she had known McCarter for several months and had invited him gladly into her home as a friend.

“It was a side to Andy I had never seen before,” she testified.

Convicted 2 Weeks Ago

In his second Superior Court trial in the case, McCarter was convicted two weeks ago in the June 21, 1986, strangulation death of Julie Fenton, a part-time waitress at Elmer’s Place in Fullerton who also worked at a health spa. Fenton had graduated from Cal State Fullerton the year before. McCarter’s first trial on the charges ended in a hung jury.

Prosecution testimony at both trials showed that McCarter had been sitting with Fenton and some of her friends at the restaurant on the night she was killed. A truck that matched the description of McCarter’s was seen by two witnesses parked near her apartment.

Superior Court Judge Robert R. Fitzgerald declared a mistrial two months ago at the first trial after the jury split 8 to 4 for guilty. Dissenting jurors said they were not convinced that the prosecution had proved it was McCarter’s truck.

The second jury, however, convicted McCarter without any new evidence. At both trials, a key witness was Michael McCarter, Andrew’s brother, who told the jurors that Andrew McCarter confessed the Fenton killing to him.

McCarter’s present jury must now decide one issue: Whether to return a verdict of death or one of life in prison without parole.

On Monday, Deputy Dist. Atty. Mel L. Jensen put the six young women on the witness stand in quick succession in an effort to show jurors that McCarter had a history not only of sexual aggression but of violence toward women.

The four Orange County incidents were not reported to the police before McCarter’s arrest in the Fenton case. But none of them would have amounted to anything more than misdemeanor counts if they had been.

George Peters, McCarter’s attorney, brought out on cross-examination that all of the incidents involving the four Orange County women were relatively minor and that McCarter stopped his sexual advances when the women protested.

In the case of the two ex-wives, law enforcement officials were puzzled as to why they had not pursued legal action against McCarter.

It turned out that the first wife did make at least some kind of attempt.

She testified that McCarter raped her in 1982 in her home in Fayetteville, Ark., after punching her in the stomach and demanding sexual relations. The woman’s mother called the police to complain about McCarter. But it was not clear whether she simply reported family trouble or details about what happened. No police reports exist showing any complaint against McCarter.

The Texas woman made no attempt to call the police, despite what she described as two brutal rape incidents.

The woman testified Monday that she came home in February, 1986, shortly after she and McCarter had separated, and found him in the house. She said he began choking her, then forceably removed her clothes and raped her.

She testified that two weeks later she returned home to find him hiding in the house. This time, she said, he hit her with the back of his hand, then dragged her to the bedroom and raped her, at one point choking her with a pillow case.

The woman also testified that McCarter told her he was moving to California because “he said if he didn’t, he would probably end up hurting me really bad.” She added that McCarter told her that if he ever caught her with another man, he would kill them both.

Neither prosecutors nor homicide investigators pressed her about why she had not reported these incidents to the police.

“It’s pretty clear she just wanted to put this whole thing behind her,” said one law enforcement official who asked not to be named. “It’s pretty sad--she just took it.”

The prosecution rested its case in the penalty phase Monday. McCarter’s defense is scheduled to begin today.