Jurors Get to See Only Part of Kraft List

Prosecutors in the Randy Steven Kraft murder trial Wednesday showed jurors part of a list that they allege is Kraft’s score card of his victims after Superior Court Judge Donald A. McCartin rejected a last-ditch effort by Kraft’s attorneys to have the list disallowed.

While conceding it was written by their client, defense attorneys have argued that the list proves nothing. In a 1983 interview, Kraft said the list simply referred to his and his roommate’s friends.

The list was scrawled on a writing tablet found in the trunk of Kraft’s car when he was arrested on May 14, 1983.

‘Airplane Hill’ Body

There are 61 often cryptic entries, such as “Hike Out LB Boots” and “Airplane Hill.” Prosecutors say the first one refers to Arthur Klingbeil, 23, who was found dead wearing hiking boots in 1978.

They say the other entry refers to an unidentified man found dead in 1973 in an area of Huntington Beach once known as “Airplane Hill.” Kraft’s attorneys have countered that the entry is meaningless because there is no evidence that Kraft knew the area was called Airplane Hill.

Since Kraft has been charged with only 16 murders, prosecutors were permitted to show the jury only the entries on the list that they allege are linked to those killings. So on Wednesday, Deputy Dist. Atty. Bryan F. Brown concentrated on 13 entries, including one--”2 in 1 Beach”--that allegedly refers to two young men who were last seen alive together. One of the victims was found with sand on his clothing.

Prosecutors say the names of two murder victims are not on the list. One is Eric Herbert Church, 21, found dead Jan. 27, 1983, in Seal Beach, and Terry Lee Gambrel, the 25-year-old Marine found dead in Kraft’s car when he was arrested.

In court Wednesday, jurors were shown a photographic blow-up of the portion of the list they have been allowed to see.

Kraft, 43, a former Long Beach computer consultant, has denied that he killed anyone. He was arrested by two California Highway Patrol officers after they stopped him on the San Diego Freeway for a traffic violation and found Gambrel dead in the car.

The introduction of the so-called death list signals the winding down of the prosecution’s case. Next Wednesday, Brown is to call the last of his witnesses, including a pharmacologist who will testify about drugs found in the victims’ bodies, and a photographer who will testify about photographs found in Kraft’s car and in his house.

During the week of Dec. 12, defense attorneys will argue before the judge that the murder charges against their client should be dismissed. If they fail, the trial will resume Jan. 9, when the defense is scheduled to begin its case.

If Kraft is convicted, prosecutors say, they may introduce evidence of up to 29 more killings that they believe they can link to Kraft, including six in Oregon and two in Michigan, in an effort to have him sentenced to death.