Sex Video Maker’s Wife Accused in Murder Plot

Casting aside earlier theories of a Mafia-style execution, authorities said Tuesday they believe that the wife of slain pornographer Theodore J. Snyder, a flamboyant figure who produced dozens of sex videotapes in the early 1980s, had her husband killed by a hired man.

Sharon Snyder, 39, of Woodland Hills and Victor Diaz, 47, were charged in San Fernando Municipal Court with first-degree murder in connection with Snyder’s slaying on Aug. 1. They were also charged with the special allegation that they killed for financial gain, which means prosecutors may seek the death penalty.

According to the district attorney’s complaint against them, Sharon Snyder offered Diaz $20,000 to kill her husband so she could inherit their property.

Los Angeles Police Detective Kirk Mellecker said he could not estimate the value of Teddy Snyder’s personal holdings. Although his company had filed for reorganization under bankruptcy laws, Snyder led a luxurious life style. He drove a Rolls-Royce, frequently took friends flying in his seven-seat airplane, and wore gold and diamond jewelry.

Sharon Snyder and Diaz are also each charged with one count of conspiracy with an unnamed third party, and Diaz faces one count of possession of a machine gun.

Snyder, 47, was shot four times in the front and five times in the back with a .380-caliber Mac II submachine gun near his parked car in Northridge.

Initially, the style of the killing led authorities to speculate that it was an organized crime “hit.” Snyder’s Northridge video company, Video Cassette Recordings Inc., had gone bankrupt in 1988 and owed money to a company that federal prosecutors said was linked to an East Coast crime family.

Others, noting the vial of cocaine found in his hand, said that Snyder, regarded as a cocaine user, probably met his death in a drug deal gone awry.

But the investigation took a turn in December after Ventura County law enforcement officials arrested William Fisher, 35, of Simi Valley on misdemeanor drug charges in an unrelated probe, Sgt. Dennis Fitzgerald said.

Fisher then gave investigators information about the killing, authorities said.

According to court documents, after Sharon Snyder offered Diaz $20,000 to kill her husband, Diaz offered Fisher $20,000 to commit an unspecified murder. Fisher later helped Diaz obtain the submachine gun that authorities believe Diaz used to shoot Teddy Snyder, the court papers said.

Detective Phil Vannatter said Fisher will be a witness against Sharon Snyder and Diaz, who were arrested Friday by Los Angeles police.

Times staff writer Mike Connelly contributed to this story.