‘Ninja’ Story Not Credible, Murder Trial Jurors Told

A 25-year-old Encino man, accused of bludgeoning his actress mother to death, told authorities the night of the killing that he had been knocked unconscious by an intruder wearing a Ninja mask, witnesses testified Wednesday.

But paramedics and police--who were summoned to the home Dec. 10, 1986, the night actress Susan Cabot, 59, was slain--doubted the story almost at once, they told a jury on the first day of testimony in the murder trial of Timothy Scott Roman in Van Nuys Superior Court. The trial is expected to last several weeks.

Roman, charged with first-degree murder, sat with his head bowed and eyes downcast as witnesses told of discrepancies in his story.

Opening Statement

In a brief opening statement, Deputy Dist. Atty. Bradford Stone said he will prove that Roman used a piece of weightlifting equipment to kill his mother. The actress died of multiple blows to the head, Stone said.

Stone said he will prove that Roman took “certain steps” to conceal his guilt before and after the slaying.

Defense attorney Chester Leo Smith said he will give his opening statement when the defense portion of the trial begins.

Paramedics testified Wednesday that Roman was “cool and calm” as he met paramedics at the entrance to the house the night of the killing. They said Roman told them he had been attacked by a tall Latino man with long hair who had broken into the house.

“He said his mother was inside and that he thought she was dead,” said John Beiner, a Los Angeles Fire Department paramedic. Beiner and his partner, Robert Gocke, said they were the first to arrive at the house after the killing.

Blood-Stained Cloth

Gocke found the body of the actress, a leading lady in “B” movies in the 1950s, lying across a bed. Her head was covered with a red, blood-stained cloth, he said.

There was no evidence that the boyish-looking Roman had been hit hard enough to “knock him out,” Gocke said.

“He said he was knocked out, but there didn’t seem to be enough of a blow to do that,” Beiner testified. There was a “slight bruise” on Roman’s forehead, Beiner said.

The two paramedics, an animal-control officer and a police officer testified that two guard dogs were found shut up in the boy’s bedroom.

“They were vicious,” said Lt. Timothy Goffa, an animal-control officer who removed the dogs from the home.

Police Officer Robert Anthony Cadena testified that Roman said a burglar had hit him on the head. But Cadena said he found no evidence that anyone had broken into the house.

Cadena testified that Roman said he and his mother had been watching television in the living room before the break-in. Later, Roman said the two had been in his mother’s bedroom watching television, Cadena said.