Kraft Jurors Likely to Be Sequestered

The judge in the mass-murder trial of Randy Steven Kraft told attorneys Thursday that he probably will sequester the jurors at a hotel during their deliberations.

Although movies and television shows often show jurors sequestered, it rarely occurs in California trials. Alan Slater, Orange County Superior Court administrator, said he knows of only one jury being sequestered overnight in the county in the past 10 years, and only “two or three others” in his 17 years here.

“It’s rarely, rarely done, but if that is what the judge wants, then we will make plans to accommodate,” Slater said.

Judge Donald A. McCartin told Kraft’s attorneys after the jurors were excused Thursday that he wants to keep the 10-woman, two-man jury at a hotel during deliberations but that he is concerned about the scheduling because he doesn’t want the jurors away from their families over Easter.

But Kraft’s attorneys said it was difficult to tell the judge how soon they may be finished with their case.

Kraft, 43, a computer consultant from Long Beach, was arrested May 14, 1983, when two California Highway Patrol officers found a dead Marine in his car. He is charged with 16 murders, but Orange County Sheriff’s Department investigators have linked him to a total of 45 killings in Southern California, Oregon and Michigan.

Prosecution testimony began in September and took about 2 months. Since a 2-month hiatus, Kraft’s attorneys have put on witnesses for 4 weeks and expect their case to take several more weeks.

Once the defense concludes, Deputy Dist. Atty. Bryan F. Brown will have a chance to present any rebuttal witnesses. The defense can then present their rebuttal witnesses. That is followed by closing arguments to the jury and the reading of jury instructions.

If Kraft is convicted, his trial will go into a penalty phase, when jurors would be asked to decide between a death penalty or life without parole.