Brando Son Held in Murder : Seized at Father’s Estate in Death of Sister’s Boyfriend : Victim Had Beaten Girl, He Claims

The son of actor Marlon Brando was arrested on suspicion of murder this morning after the boyfriend of the actor’s daughter was found shot to death at the elegant Brando estate overlooking Hollywood.

Police said Christian Brando, 32, told them that he fired a single pistol shot into the head of Dag Dorllet, 26, about 10:40 p.m. Wednesday after accusing Dorllet of beating 20-year-old Cheyenne Brando, who is pregnant.

According to the family, the abuse took place shortly before the murder and apparently was not part of a sustained pattern of mistreatment, police said. Detectives said the young woman is not believed to be seriously hurt and bore no signs of injury. They did not say how soon the baby is expected or who the father is.

“We’re not sure Christian was totally sober, but it doesn’t appear to be some sort of drink fest,” said Lt. Ron Hall, commander of the Los Angeles Police Department’s West Los Angeles Division. “There were definitely no drugs.”

The reclusive, 66-year-old actor, his wife, Tarita Tariipia and Cheyenne Brando were all in the home at the time of the slaying and all heard the fatal shot, but none actually witnessed the shooting, according to Hall. The lieutenant said there were no other people in the home when the shooting occurred.

Marlon Brando used the 911 emergency number to phone police about five minutes after the shooting, Hall said.

Hall said that arriving police units recovered the weapon involved, a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol, along with a shotgun, a .44-caliber carbine and two unregistered fully automatic firearms--an Uzi submachine gun and an M-14 rifle.

“Christian has indicated that he was a gun enthusiast,” Hall said, “but he has not given any other reason for why he had the weapons.”

The shooting occurred in the den of the Brando home, while the Academy Award-winning actor, his wife and daughter were in other parts of the 12-room house, according to Hall. The police lieutenant said the suspect and the other members of the Brando family all waited in the home until police arrived, “and everyone, including Christian, was cooperative.”

Brando’s house is part of a sprawling, three-home complex on a two-acre site atop the Santa Monica Mountains, a few hundred yards west of Coldwater Canyon. The two other houses on the property belong to actor Jack Nicholson, according to property tax records. It was not known whether Nicholson was there when the shooting took place.

A tall, wrought-iron fence surrounds the secluded, heavily wooded complex. None of the houses are visible from the street. The gate giving access to the single driveway leading to the three homes is topped with a concertina spiral of barbed razor wire.

The complex earned notoriety in 1977 when director Roman Polanski was arrested and charged with having unlawful sexual intercourse at one of the Nicholson homes with a 13-year-old girl. Nicholson was away on vacation at the time. Polanski pleaded guilty to the charge but fled the country to avoid sentencing in 1978. He has never returned.

Hall said his detectives learned during interviews with the Brando family at their home early today that Dorllet had maintained “a romantic relationship” with Cheyenne Brando “for some time” and had been staying in the Brando home since arriving here from Tahiti about 10 days ago.

Hall said that--like the actor’s wife, Tarita, who co-starred with him in their remake of the film, “Mutiny on The Bounty”--the slain man was of Pacific Island extraction.

Police said they did not know Dorllet’s occupation.

Christian Brando was booked at the West Los Angeles station on suspicion of murder, and police said additional charges may be filed in connection with the automatic weapons. He was ordered held without bail. Arraignment is not expected until Monday.

William Kunstler, a noted ‘60s-era civil rights attorney who has long been a friend of Marlon Brando, said he will be representing Christian Brando, along with Los Angeles lawyers Barry Litt and Daniel Stormer.

Kunstler told the Associated Press in New York that a “distraught” Marlon Brando called him early today and asked him to take the case.

The suspect listed his occupation as “self-employed welder.” Police said the welding reportedly consisted primarily of fabricating metal sculpture.

The suspect is the son of Marlon Brando and Anna Kashfi, the actor’s first wife. She divorced the actor in 1959, and for the next six years, the two of them waged an ugly, accusatory legal battle over their son, with the actor finally being granted custody in 1965. Kashfi was remarried in 1974 to Los Angeles businessman James Hannaford.