Local News in Brief : Mail Bomb Case Plea
A woman who holds dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles federal court Monday to charges that she was involved in the 1980 mail bomb death of a secretary of a defunct Manhattan Beach computer company.
Rochelle Ida Manning, 48, entered the pleas to charges of mailing an explosive device with intent to kill and aiding and abetting in the death of Patricia Wilkerson, 35, who was killed in July, 1980, when a device she plugged into a wall socket destroyed the offices of Prowest Computer Corp.
Her husband, Robert Steven Manning, 36, has also been charged in the case, but he remains a fugitive in Israel.
Rochelle Manning was arrested June 22 when she arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on a flight from Tel Aviv. Federal authorities said her fingerprints were on a letter that accompanied the bomb. Robert Manning’s fingerprints were allegedly on the box that contained the explosive device.
The Mannings, who were members of the militant Jewish Defense League, are also suspects in the 1985 bombing death of Alex Odeh, a top official of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee in Santa Ana.
Trial for Rochelle Manning in the Manhattan Beach case was set for Aug. 23 before U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian Jr.
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