Judge Drops Charge in Van Nuys Slaying

A first-degree murder charge against a Van Nuys man was dismissed Thursday by a Van Nuys Superior Court judge who ruled that the defendant’s confession had been obtained illegally.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said charges will be refiled because prosecutors believe they have enough evidence against Stephen Rusty Lockett, 29, to convict him without the confession.

Lockett was accused of killing Tracy Shay White, 33, whose body was found along a road in Griffith Park, wrapped in blankets and sheets, on Sept. 9, 1988. She had been killed by a blow to the head with a heavy object about 10 days earlier, court documents said.

Lockett had called White’s boss and said she would not be at work because she was attending a funeral, said Deputy Dist. Atty. James G. Berry. Lockett was arrested on Oct. 14 in Las Vegas with White’s car and credit cards.

Questioned by Los Angeles police in Las Vegas, Lockett said, “I’d just feel more comfortable if I had an attorney,” according to police transcripts of the interview.

But he waived his right to counsel after being told an attorney was not immediately available and that talking to police could help his case, the transcript shows.

The transcript also quotes the detectives as emphasizing to Lockett that they would in no way harm him or force him to talk if he did not choose to.

Lockett went on to tell detectives that he struck White with a hammer after she attacked him with it. He said he wrapped her body in sheets and drove her to the park.

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge James A. Coleman dismissed the charge because he said Lockett clearly had tried to invoke his constitutional right to an attorney before he confessed.

Lockett was rearrested Thursday and was returned to jail.