Dec. 29 Execution Set for Bittaker

A Dec. 29 execution date was set Tuesday for Lawrence Sigmond Bittaker, who was convicted eight years ago of the kidnap, rape, torture and and murder of five Southland teen-age girls.

The 49-year-old former machinist from Burbank, who did not attend Tuesday’s hearing, was scheduled for San Quentin’s gas chamber by Torrance Superior Court Judge John P. Shook.

The California Supreme Court has affirmed his death sentence, but his attorney, Richard Such, said he will seek a stay with an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which could delay the execution for two years.

Bittaker’s accomplice, Roy Lewis Norris, agreed to plead guilty to the murders and testified against Bittaker. He was given 45 years to life in prison and will be eligible for parole in 2004.

During the trial, prosecutor Stephen Kay relied on Norris’ testimony and a tape recording of Bittaker torturing one of his victims with pliers and a hammer.

Although no one has been executed in California for a quarter of a century, Kay said he is “confident” that Bittaker will eventually be put to death for what he termed “the most brutal murders in the history of Los Angeles County.”