Man Accused of Killing His Actress Mother Changes Plea

A 25-year-old man accused of clubbing his actress mother to death with a barbell in their Encino home withdrew a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity Wednesday and entered a plea of not guilty.

Three months after a mistrial was declared in a first attempt to try Timothy Scott Roman, his two new lawyers waived his right to a jury trial.

Roman is accused of the Dec. 10, 1986, murder of Susan Cabot, 59, a B-movie actress in the 1950s.

The practical effect of the plea change is that during his new trial, scheduled to continue today, Roman’s attorneys can present medical and psychiatric evidence alleging that he was incapable of forming the intent to kill required for a murder conviction.

Lesser Charge

If they present such evidence and Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Darlene E. Schempp rules in their favor, Roman might end up convicted of a lesser charge, such as voluntary manslaughter, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Bradford E. Stone, who is prosecuting the case.

If the insanity plea had remained in effect and Roman had been convicted, a separate hearing would have been required to determine if he was insane at the time of the killing. If deemed insane, he could have been incarcerated for the rest of his life unless later found to be sane, Stone said.

Stone and Richard P. Lasting, one of Roman’s attorneys, waived their right to make opening statements to Schempp, who is trying Roman.

The trial got under way with Los Angeles County paramedic Robert Gocke testifying that Roman claimed on the night of the slaying to have found his mother dead in bed. Roman said he had been knocked unconscious by a Latin intruder in a Ninja mask but had only a superficial cut on his forearm, Gocke testified.

If convicted of murder, Roman could be sentenced to life in prison since prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty. But if convicted of voluntary manslaughter, for instance, he would receive a maximum of 11 years.

Declared Mistrial

About a month into the first trial, Schempp in May declared a mistrial after Roman’s attorney, Chester Leo Smith, 67, was admitted to a hospital with what were said to be stress-related heart problems.

Smith’s defense tactics had stunned prosecutors. During the first trial, he revealed to jurors during direct examination of a police officer that Roman had confessed to slaying his mother after the two had argued.

Had Smith not brought it up, the confession would have been inadmissible in court since it was made after Roman had asked to speak with an attorney, a constitutional right, Stone said.

Smith had earlier unsuccessfully sought to have the murder charges dropped by arguing that his client was the victim of a failed medical experiment.

Born a dwarf, Roman grew to 5 feet, 4 inches with thrice-weekly injections of a hormone derived from the pituitary glands of cadavers. Smith maintained this caused aberrant behavior in the former Pierce College art student.