Harrison Convicted of Murder : Crime: Judge finds a stack of circumstantial evidence in the slaying of his ex-wife sufficiently compelling for conviction.

Wasting no time in deliberation, Vista Superior Court Judge David B. Moon found David Scott Harrison guilty Friday of the first-degree murder of his ex-wife, in what had been billed as “the perfect crime.”

“Sometimes the person who attempts to perpetrate a crime without any trail overlooks certain items or events that are totally beyond his control,” Moon said in handing down his decision.

“I find from all of the circumstantial evidence--motive, opportunity and the method that she was killed--that the people have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Harrison is guilty of the crime of murder.”

With that, the courtroom erupted with cries of joy from Anne Jenkins’ family, drowning out Moon as he continued.

“Willfully, deliberately and with premeditation,” added Moon, as Gary Jenkins, Anne’s husband, sobbed uncontrollably in the front row of the audience.

Jenkins family members hugged each other as court was adjourned, while members of Harrison’s family were the first to leave the building.

Harrison, of Del Mar Heights, strangled and stabbed Anne Jenkins to death Feb. 17, 1988 at her San Marcos home, one month after she and her new husband won $727,000 in the California Lottery.

Moon was swift in handing down his verdict in the non-jury trial, taking only 15 minutes to relay his decision after Deputy Dist. Atty. James Burns finished his closing argument. During his closing statements, Burns said that Harrison “made aspirations to the perfect crime, but he made mistakes. He talked too much afterwards.”

Although there was no direct evidence placing Harrison at the scene of the murder, Moon found the abundance of circumstantial evidence compelling.

“I had my doubts about the outcome at first,” Gary Jenkins said. “I’m going to go home and talk to the kids, talk about the decision with them . . . and get on with my life as much as I can.”

Gary Jenkins, who has custody of children, ages 10 and 11, from his slain wife’s marriage to Harrison, plans to fight Harrison’s parents to retain custody. Harrison had waged a war of harassment against Anne Jenkins after she won custody of the children.

“This has been very hard, something I don’t want to go through ever again,” he said. “If it weren’t for those children, I probably wouldn’t be standing here right now.”

“I was scared (Harrison) would get off,” said Harry Wanket, the victim’s father, adding that he always believed Harrison had committed the murder. “I wasn’t sure how convincing the circumstantial evidence would be. I was convinced that he did it and Larry Burns was convinced and the family was convinced; we just weren’t sure the judge was convinced of it.”

Moon said two witnesses were key in his decision.

Tom Matthews, one of the defense witnesses, testified that he heard a man and a woman arguing in the driveway of Jenkins’ house on the day of the murder. A second witness testified that Harrison had told him to “watch the news; something big is going to happen on Wednesday or Thursday.”

“I think it was close,” Burns said after the trial. “But I think that the verdict the court arrived at is fully supported by the evidence.”

For Burns, the conviction ends a 2-year investigation into what he has characterized as “the most interesting case I’ve ever handled.”

“Personally, I am relieved that it’s over,” he said. “This has been a 2-year-long ordeal for me and my family, and it’s a small measure of relief for the family of Anne Jenkins, who suffered at David Harrison’s hands for too many years.”

Sentencing will take place in May. Harrison faces 27 years to life in prison.

The defense had tried to show that Gary Jenkins, among others, had equal motive and means to kill his wife, thus casting reasonable doubt on the case.

“The judge had made up his mind, in my judgment, at the same point the police made up its mind. That is, why would he take this stuff . . . and hide it and say something big is going to happen,” said Alan May, Harrison’s attorney, referring to the testimony Moon said was most compelling.

Harrison had been an avid reader of books such as “The Perfect Crime,” “The Anarchist’s Cookbook” and “The Joy of Cold Revenge,” some of which he used in harassing Anne Jenkins and her family in the years between their divorce in 1982 and her death. He admitted in court that he hid the books before the murder.

“But the evidence was not legally sufficient to convict,” May insisted, adding that an appeal is planned.

Harrison showed no emotion as Moon read his verdict, but May later said he broke into tears after he was taken from the courtroom.

“He couldn’t believe that the judge didn’t understand things,” May said.