Father Tells of Deaf Man’s Rage Before Two Slayings

The father of a deaf man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and her mother at their Santa Ana home testified Tuesday that three weeks before the slayings, his son became violently upset about the soured romance and about losing his job.

Ronald James Blaney Jr., 32, watched the sign-language interpreter intently as his father, Ronald Sr., told about his son’s lifelong struggle to cope with being deaf, and the young man’s hopes of marrying and raising a family.

The younger Blaney faces a possible sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted in the May 4, 1987, stabbing deaths of Priscilla Vinci, 33, who also was deaf, and her mother, Josephine Vinci, 65. The bodies of the two women were found by a neighbor a short time after Blaney was seen leaving the house.

Victim Was an Activist

Blaney’s month-old trial in Santa Ana Superior Court has attracted much attention in the deaf community, where Priscilla Vinci was a popular and respected activist in affairs for the deaf.

Blaney has admitted the killings, but his lawyers are seeking a manslaughter verdict at most, contending that his frustration over his problems led to sudden violence.

Ronald Blaney Sr. told jurors that about three weeks before the killings, his son had come to his apartment upset because “Priscilla wanted a cooling-off period in their relationship, and he couldn’t understand it.”

“He was confused,” the father said. “He was confused about Priscilla; he was confused about the way the hearing world treated the deaf.”

Blaney, who works in the computer field, had been laid off by a tax consultant group. Before that, he had experienced difficulty in keeping a job or advancing.

Deputy Public Defender James S. Egar introduced a letter in which a bank official rejected Blaney, an employee, for a promotion, saying that his deafness made it improbable that he could handle the job.

Blaney’s father cried at times as he related how his son, who was also upset with him because he had talked to the Vinci family, overturned some furniture in a fit of rage, then quickly calmed down.

The father said his son’s dream was to marry Priscilla and get a job which paid enough to support a family.

“We talked long into the night, past midnight, about things,” his father testified. “The next morning when I left the apartment, Ronnie was asleep on the couch. But he had left me a note apologizing for his actions the night before.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert C. Gannon Jr. has had a continuing objection to testimony of many of the defense witnesses, including Blaney’s father, because of Judge Leonard H. McBride’s latitude in permitting hearsay evidence.

The judge has explained to the jury that he is allowing witnesses to relate what the defendant had told them--which is usually not allowable--so that the jurors can better understand Blaney’s state of mind that led to the killings.

But Gannon argued: “What the defense is really doing is having Blaney testify without facing cross-examination, under the guise of ‘state-of-mind.’ ” The judge responded that Blaney’s mental state is too central to the defense’s case for him to disallow the testimony.

Blaney’s father said his son had a difficult childhood because of his deafness.

‘Red With Rage’

“Many times, he was wild and out of control,” the father testified. “He would get red with rage, eyes staring straight ahead.”

Blaney’s attorney has said outside the courtroom that he realizes most people who are deaf cope quite well with their handicap.

“I’m only talking about how it has affected this defendant,” he said. “And this defendant has had a really troubled life, we hope to show the jury.”

The Vinci family had been upset with Blaney over an incident in which he had allegedly struck Priscilla in an argument. The family wanted Blaney to stay away from her.

Blaney was arrested the day after the killings at the home of his mother in Arizona. It was his father, in contact with his ex-wife by telephone, who told police where he was.

“Ronnie said that he had hurt Priscilla and her mother, but he did not know that they had died,” the father said.