Professor Too ‘Nerdy’ to Wield Chain Saw, His Lawyer Says

Max B. Franc owned the gun that killed a teen-age male Hollywood prostitute and he rented the chain saw that was used to cut up the corpse, but the 58-year-old college professor was guilty of neither the murder nor the dismemberment, his attorney says.

In his closing arguments Thursday to a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury, Deputy Public Defender Mark Kaiserman conceded that Franc is a homosexual and a voyeur, who exercised poor judgment, lied to police and, indeed, may have been an accessory after-the-fact to the August, 1987, murder.

But the attorney said Franc is too “nerdy” and too much of “a klutz” to wield a pistol, much less a power saw. He reminded jurors that, to avoid having to use a lawn mower, Franc had the back yard of his Fresno home cemented over. He is “not an assaultive type person,” Kaiserman said of the former Cal State Fresno political science professor.

Blames Alleged Acquaintance

The defense lawyer said that Terry Adams--an alleged acquaintance of Franc’s, who has never been found--had done both the killing and dismemberment after a fight with the victim, Tracy L. Nute, an 18-year-old male prostitute from Kansas City.

During the monthlong trial, Deputy Dist. Atty. Sterling E. Norris maintained that Franc acted alone, that there is no Terry Adams.

According to Franc, he had known Nute for about five years and the youth had done housework for him.

The teen-ager died of a gunshot wound to the head. Parts of his body were found along highways near Fresno and Valencia.

Franc became a suspect after employees of a Hollywood equipment rental firm summoned police when they found blood and flesh on a chain saw rented by the professor. The pistol believed used in the slaying was later found in Franc’s desk at the university.

Blood and Photos

In a blood-splattered West Hollywood apartment rented by Franc, investigators found more than 200 pornographic photographs of Nute and other young men.

Franc at first told police he used the chain saw to cut up a dog that he had struck with his car. Later, the educator, who has a doctorate in public administration, maintained that the killer was Adams.

During the trial, Franc’s sister, Carol Waiters, a Philadelphia social worker, testified that her brother had been taunted in his childhood by other children, but avoided confrontations at all costs.

Barbara Douglas, 15, testified that she had known Nute during her brief stay in the Hollywood area before returning home to Nebraska. Through Nute, she said, she had met a man named Terry Adams.

Kaiserman made note of an entry in Franc’s diary: “Terry.” Beside it was the name “Tracy (K.C.),” apparently a reference to Nute.

The eight-woman, four-man jury began deliberations late Thursday. If convicted, Franc could be sentenced to life in prison.