Executive Convicted of Murder Try

Nicholas Schulz, a soft-spoken marketing executive who won a new trial after a botched plea bargain and chose to defend himself on charges that he tried to kill his former girlfriend’s soon-to-be ex-husband, was convicted Friday of attempted murder.

A San Diego Superior Court jury convicted Schulz after six days of deliberation. It also convicted him of two lesser charges involving explosive materials in his car, but it deadlocked 8 to 4 in favor of conviction on a burglary charge connected to the 1985 shooting. Schulz said in a phone call Friday night from County Jail downtown that he is disappointed with the verdict but is not about to give up the fight. He said that Judge Lisa Guy-Schall would not let him present key evidence, so the verdict was no surprise. He said he plans to again ask for a new trial.

“By not letting us bring certain evidence in, they stacked the deck so that we couldn’t win,” Schulz said.

Schulz, 36, is a native of Chicago who moved to San Diego in 1984 to join General Dynamics’ Electronics Division. He quickly landed a coveted marketing position paying $55,000 a year.

In April, 1985, he met Janice Vuich, the manager of a Point Loma savings and loan. She was separated from her second husband, John Kiracofe, a commercial pilot.

On Oct. 29, 1985, Schulz visited Kiracofe’s home in Ramona. Kiracofe was shot once in the abdomen.

Schulz was arrested later by police while speeding through Poway in a rented car containing a loaded semiautomatic pistol.

Prosecutors maintain that Schulz plotted Kiracofe’s murder. Also in the rental car were two wine bottles filled with gasoline and a few strips of cloth, which prosecutors say were wicks for firebombs that Schulz intended to use to blow up Kiracofe’s house.

In March, 1986, Schulz--who was charged with attempted murder, unlawful entry to commit murder and unlawful possession of explosives--pleaded no contest to the attempted-murder charge on the advice of his lawyer, Charles Bumer.

Shortly afterward, Schulz said, he was coerced into entering the plea and was misled about the benefits of the deal. Bumer, he said, told him that the plea bargain would reduce his possible sentence by six to nine years. Actually, it saved him just one year.

Schulz, protesting his innocence, sought to have the agreement set aside, but San Diego Superior Court Judge David Gill refused to do so and sentenced him to 11 years in state prison.

In May, 1988, the 4th District Court of Appeal in San Diego concluded that Schulz had been ill-advised by his lawyer and misinformed about the benefits of the plea bargain. The conviction had to be tossed out and Schulz given a new trial, the court said.

That trial finally began six weeks ago, but only after Guy-Schall denied Schulz’s request to introduce evidence from a related civil suit, which Schulz said Friday shows that the shooting was an accident.

Kiracofe sued Schulz for $1 million over the shooting, but accepted a $20,000 settlement from Schulz’s insurance company, Schulz said. The settlement papers say that the shooting was due to Schulz’s negligence, meaning it could not have been intentional, he said.

Guy-Schall said the papers would only confuse the jury, he said.

At the trial, Vuich testified that Schulz had the ability to change his personality at will.

Kiracofe also testified, saying he had never met Schulz before the shooting. He said he could not identify Schulz as the gunman.

In his closing argument, Deputy Dist. Atty. James Pippin told jurors that the case revolved around Schulz’s obsession with Vuich. Pippin also said that “lying comes easy” to Schulz.

Schulz called that “nonsense” and said he is “just a guy who wants to tell his side in court.”

In addition to the conviction on the charge of attempted murder, the jury found Schulz guilty of possession of a firebomb and of a flammable explosive in the rental car. The jury deadlocked on a charge of burglary, the entry of Kiracofe’s house with intent to commit murder.

Schulz said he will be asking for a new trial. He could be sentenced to a maximum of 11 years and eight months in state prison, Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan Williams said.

Formal sentencing was set for March 2.