THE NIGHT STALKER TRIAL : Suspect in Juror’s Slaying Kills Self

The man suspected of murdering a juror in the Night Stalker trial shot himself to death on the balcony of a Carson motel Tuesday morning, moments after sheriff’s deputies had tracked him down, authorities said.

James C. Melton, 51, sought for questioning in the shooting death of his girlfriend, juror Phyllis Y. Singletary, fired a bullet into his head as he stood outside his second-floor room at the Comfort Inn. Deputies were preparing to converge on the room when the suicide occurred about 11 a.m., Deputy Detta Roberts said.

Inside the room, deputies found a suicide note in which Melton admitted killing the 30-year-old juror in a domestic dispute, Deputy Bill Wehner said. The note directed investigators to nearby Victoria Park, where Melton had left his 1985 Cadillac Coupe De Ville, in which he had fled the murder scene.

Singletary, who had been shot twice in the chest, was found dead Monday afternoon in the apartment in Carson she shared with Melton.

Singletary was one of the jurors deliberating the fate of defendant Richard Ramirez in the highly publicized serial murder case.

The 29-year-old drifter from Texas is accused of slaying 13 people throughout Los Angeles County in the spring and summer of 1985.

Roberts said an anonymous tip led authorities to the motel. Deputies were preparing to secure the surrounding area when Melton, who had checked into Room 221 under his own name about 3 p.m. Monday, emerged and stood on the balcony.

He spotted the deputies, turned to re-enter the room and then shot himself once in the head with a revolver, Roberts said.

No words were exchanged between Melton and the deputies.

Investigators said they will subject Melton’s gun to lab tests to determine if it is also the weapon used to kill Singletary, who was severely beaten before her death.

“It could be the murder weapon, but we’re not sure at this point,” Wehner said.

The manager of the motel, Rajendra Patel, said Melton had arrived Monday afternoon.

“He just checked in like anybody else,” Patel said.

The motel manager said there were few people in the 31-unit motel, across the street from a mobile home park and shopping center, at the time of Melton’s suicide.

Melton had been sought since Singletary’s body was found in the apartment in the 20500 block of Campaign Drive. Authorities had gone to the El Cordova Apartments after Singletary failed to show up in court at 9:30 a.m. Court officials had tried to reach her by phone earlier in the day.

Neighbors in the complex said they heard a loud argument between Singletary and Melton that started about 10 p.m. Friday and continued until about 2 a.m. Saturday. Some neighbors said they heard gunshots.

Singletary was replaced on the jury Tuesday morning by a woman alternate. Her death has fomented much speculation about the trial’s outcome, with some observers saying it could result in a mistrial.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael A. Tynan said he will rule this morning on a defense request to ask each of the remaining 12 jurors and seven alternates whether they can overcome the “terrible tragedy” and continue deliberating the fate of Ramirez, who could be sentenced to death if convicted.

Singletary was employed as a Pacific Bell service representative and worked in the billing department in Tustin. She arrived in California from El Paso in 1981, according to court documents.

El Paso is also Ramirez’s hometown.