SOUTHLAND : 2nd Mistrial in ’82 Murder Case
A second mistrial was declared today in the case of a British citizen charged with murdering four members of a Northridge family who disappeared in 1982.
Superior Court Judge Judith C. Chirlin declared the mistrial after ruling that Deputy Public Defender Mark Lessem had a conflict of interest and could no longer represent Harvey Rader, 47. The conflict involved a key prosecution witness, Robert Williams, who had recently been represented in a drunken driving case by the public defender’s office.
Chirlin declared the mistrial on the second day of Rader’s second trial. Rader’s first trial ended in a mistrial Aug. 31 after a Superior Court jury deadlocked 11-1 to convict him in the murders of Israeli immigrant Shlomo Salomon, 35; his wife, Elaine, and their two children, Michalle, 15, and Mitchell, 9.
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