David Says He’ll Never Feel Free Until Father Is Dead

Like any 13-year-old, David Rothenberg sometimes rides an emotional roller-coaster. But in David’s case, his mood changes are caused by more than just the ordinary trials of adolescence.

At a press conference Wednesday at Buena Park police headquarters--just a few blocks from the Travelodge motel where he was critically burned by his father in 1983--David’s emotions ranged from bitterness to anger, from sadness to pity, from elation to exasperation as he told dozens of reporters about his feelings on the day his attacker was released from prison. Rothenberg, who was paroled to a secret location early Wednesday morning after serving 6 1/2 years of his 13-year sentence, was awarded the early release because of good behavior behind bars.

Seated atop a phone book and dressed in typical teen-ager garb--jeans, polo shirt and sneakers--David patiently answered questions about his fears, concerns and feelings towards his father, Charles Rothenberg. While David’s answers were even-toned through most of the 30-minute press conference, the range of emotions he was experiencing was evident.

He was relieved.

“I feel more comfortable because now I know . . . what kind of parole he’s going to be put on,” David said, recalling a lunch with parole officers Monday in which he was told that Rothenberg would be placed under the severest parole restrictions ever in California history.

But at the same time, he remained fearful.

He keeps a BB gun by his bed for protection, and said that his family has “taken out some precautions” in case Rothenberg decided to try an unauthorized visit.

David was also confused.

“I don’t see why he gets good time (early release) because he’s been living by himself all these years. I don’t see why.”

And he was bitter.

“He doesn’t love me!” David said when asked if he believed Rothenberg’s statements to the press that he still loved his son. “If he loved me, he wouldn’t (have done) anything to me.”

It was one of the few times David raised his voice. Through most of the press conference, David--a seasoned veteran of media coverage after nearly seven years of reporters’ questions--remained calm. But his fear of Rothenberg was evident. He refused to answer questions about the nightmares he continues to suffer about the fire, and his voice trailed off almost entirely when he was asked how he would react if Rothenberg ever approached him again.

“I wouldn’t say anything (if Rothenberg tried to contact him). I’d just get out of there. I’d just run home or something,” David said.

But like anyone accustomed to the demands of journalists, David knew how to control the media. When he tired of the questions, he turned to his stepfather and said, “Let’s take a break.” They walked off for five minutes, had a soft drink, and returned when David felt ready to face the media again.

While David said he was tired of all the media attention, he added that it was the only way to make it publicly known that he doesn’t ever want to see Rothenberg again. In fact, after his stepfather, Buena Park Police Lt. Richard Hafdahl, said he hoped Wednesday’s press conference would curb media attention for a while, David said essentially the opposite. David said he hoped the coverage would continue until Rothenberg gets the message to stay away.

“I think he (Rothenberg) still wants to be my father, and that could never be done again,” said David.

Still, David expressed fears that Rothenberg will never accept that. Asked when he thought his fears of Rothenberg might end, he answered firmly: “When Charles dies.”