Police May Seek Murder Warrant for Husband in North Coast Slaying

San Diego police said Wednesday they may seek a murder warrant for Charles (Chuck) Russ, the once seemingly high-flying entrepreneur, in the mysterious slaying of his wife.

Russ dropped from sight last August while being sought on a charge that he bilked his slain wife’s mother out of more than $80,000.

“We are actively seeking him as a suspect in the death of his wife,” said Larry Gore, commander of the department’s special-investigations division.

Pamela Russ’ battered body was discovered Feb. 1, 1987, along an isolated stretch of the coast highway near Torrey Pines State Reserve. Her cream-colored Mercedes-Benz was found nearby. Detectives believe the attractive, 33-year-old artist and dancer had been beaten and then run over with her own car as she tried to flee.

Gore said homicide investigators plan to meet with officials from the district attorney’s office next week to discuss issuing a murder warrant for Russ, who has remained a fugitive for a year. Police have declined to discuss what evidence they have.

However, a spokesman for the district attorney said he was unaware of any plans to meet with police to talk about issuing a new arrest warrant for Russ. The deputy district attorney handling the case has been on vacation and is not expected to return until next week.

“For a year and a half, we have been in the thick of this case with police, reviewing the investigation, discussing the case and what we view as the best course,” said spokesman Steve Casey. “As of now, however, nothing is calendared by way of additional discussions.”

Russ’ disappearance last year was triggered when a warrant was issued for his arrest on charges that he bilked Pamela Russ’ mother, Ginger Allen, out of her retirement nest egg.

Police quickly traced Russ to Taos, N.M., but found only an empty condominium he had rented. Police have discovered virtually no clues to his whereabouts since then.

Russ’ disappearance was the last bizarre twist in the north coast slaying. Before the slaying, Russ had seemed to be a dynamic businessman who was forging a mini-empire in telemarketing.

In the hours after the body was found, Russ told police, his wife had left the couple’s Leucadia apartment shortly before midnight to retrieve photo negatives from her artist’s loft in downtown San Diego. The couple was scheduled to leave within a day on a trip to watch the America’s Cup regatta in Australia.

Russ told police that, when his wife failed to return, he began searching the freeways for her. Eventually, Russ said, he went to the police station to report her missing, only to discover that she had been killed. Police asked him to take a polygraph test on the morning his wife’s body was found, but he refused.

Despite Russ’ disappearance, Allen pursued a civil court battle to retrieve the money she said he had embezzled from her. In February, she was awarded more than $2.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages, but so far she has collected only part of the $600,000 in life insurance policies that Russ took out on his wife.

Allen’s attorney, Robert G. Moore, said Wednesday that he plans to file a wrongful-death lawsuit against Russ in light of the revelations by police.