Anaheim Youth Investigated in Friend’s Death

The district attorney’s office is investigating a 17-year-old Canyon High School student who shot his friend to death two weeks ago--four years after he killed another friend in strikingly similar circumstances, police said Wednesday.

Anaheim Police Lt. Marc Hedgepeth said that homicide investigators have turned over to the district attorney’s office all records in connection with the May 24 slaying of Christian Wiedepuhl, 17, and the 1986 shooting of Jeffrey A. Bush, 13.

Bush and Wiedepuhl died in the same room of the same house after being shot by the same youth, whose identify was being withheld because of his age.

The teen-ager has not been charged in either case.

Hedgepeth said there are many unanswered questions in both cases. He said Assistant Dist. Atty. Brent Romney will review the two cases for possible criminal action.

A decision on whether the high school student will face criminal charges may come this week,Hedgepeth said. He declined to say if a specific detail prompted the department to turn the case over for review.

“Any time there’s a case that is questionable in any manner, those cases are quite frequently sent to the district attorney,” Hedgepeth said. “They are the trained legal experts and can determine if it warrants criminal charges.”

The teen-ager and his family were unavailable for comment.

Wiedepuhl was shot once in the head while visiting the teen-ager at his Anaheim Hills home.

The teen-ager was examining a .38-caliber handgun owned by his stepfather when it discharged, police said. He then called police.

Wiedepuhl died the next morning at a nearby hospital.

Four years ago, the teen-ager fatally wounded Bush while the two were playing in the same room of the Anaheim Hills home.

In that case, the teen-ager was reportedly holding a 12-gauge shotgun when it discharged. The initial blast missed Bush, but three pellets from the discharged shotgun shell ricocheted and struck him in the face.

Wiedepuhl’s father, Richard Wiedepuhl, said Wednesday that he was glad the investigation was going forward and promised to cooperate with law enforcement officials.

“It’s going to be hard,” he said. “It’s going to break me apart. (But) there has to be justice. A lot of this just doesn’t add up.”

The elder Wiedepuhl, who was unable to return to work until Wednesday, said that he is having trouble coping with his son’s death and is upset that the teen-ager under investigation apparently had easy access to firearms.

He called for stricter gun control laws.

“We have to live with it (the death),” he said. “I just hope I can help prevent another tragic loss” by publicizing the circumstances surrounding his son’s death.

“It’s the best I can do,” he said.