Risks Taking Stand in Murder Trial : Defendant Denies Hot-Tub Slaying

In what defense attorneys acknowledged was a risky move, a 29-year-old man accused of murder took the witness stand Tuesday to deny that he robbed and strangled a Studio City businesswoman, then dumped her body in a back-yard hot tub.

“He felt the jury wanted to hear from him,” said James D. Gregory, who is representing Stephen Vulpis in the murder trial before Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Alan B. Haber.

“We thought there was a reasonable doubt about his guilt before putting him on the stand, but it’s his life,” Gregory said. “It’s a death penalty case, and he felt he had to tell the jury what happened. Frankly, I’m not sure if he helped himself or hurt himself.”

The victim, Heidi Katlan Scarbrough, 34, was found dead May 7, 1986, floating in the hot tub of her Ridgemoor Drive house. Deputy Dist. Atty. Michelle R. Rosenblatt said Vulpis, 29, killed Scarbrough during a struggle after she discovered him burglarizing her home.

Police said that Vulpis admitted the crimes during an interview after his arrest. But on Tuesday, Vulpis denied the charges and said his confession was coerced by overzealous police detectives who continued to question him about the slaying after he repeatedly told them he was not responsible.

Finally, Vulpis said, he just started making up the answers and felt sure he would be exonerated once police completed their investigation.

Recounts Answers

Appearing on the witness stand, Vulpis testified that when detectives asked him where Scarbrough was killed, “The first one I came up with was . . . the living room. When they said it wasn’t the living room, I said it was the bedroom.”

If Vulpis had not testified on his own behalf, Gregory said the jury might have concluded that he committed the crime and did not want to subject himself to cross-examination.

“The risk in putting him on the stand is that he will come across as someone who could very well be a killer,” Gregory said.

During cross-examination, Rosenblatt questioned Vulpis about his confession to police and asked him to account for his time on the day of the killing.

He had difficulty recalling times and places. He said he went to a Taco Bell for dinner with his fiancee but could not remember when they arrived. He said they left the restaurant about an hour later and went either directly home or drove around for awhile.

Vulpis is charged with murder, robbery and burglary in the Scarbrough case. He also faces 10 additional counts of burglary and robbery stemming from five incidents during an alleged crime spree one week after the killing.

The trial resumes today. Vulpis is being held without bail in County Jail.