Not Guilty Plea Entered in Murder of Actress

A judge entered a not guilty plea Wednesday for a man accused of stalking and killing actress Rebecca Schaeffer, despite protests that the defendant was illegally extradited.

Schaeffer, 21, was gunned down at the front door of her Los Angeles apartment on July 18, 1989.

Deputy Public Defender Stephen Galindo refused to enter a plea on his client’s behalf, stating that John Bardo’s extradition from Arizona to California was a mistake and the court therefore had no jurisdiction. “His transportation was in fact illegal and in violation of both Arizona and California codes and federal procedures,” said Galindo, who has asked that the case be dismissed.

Superior Court Judge Gary Klausner entered the plea to the murder charge and a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait. If convicted of murder and the allegation, Bardo could be sentenced to death in the gas chamber.

Klausner set a pretrial hearing March 1 before Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Connor.