Radke Guilty in Slaying of Mira Mesa Teen

A San Diego Superior Court jury convicted Mark Alan Radke on Tuesday of first-degree murder in the brutal 1988 killing of a Mira Mesa teen-ager but could not fully resolve the case by deciding whether Radke--or a mystery accomplice--wielded the murder weapon.

The jury found Radke guilty of murder in the death of 16-year-old Jeffrey Rudiger, whose beaten body was found in a Scripps Ranch alley in January, 1988.

Immediately after the verdict, Judge J. Richard Haden sent Radke to San Diego County Jail, revoking $200,000 bail. Radke could draw 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 24.

The jury could not, however, reach a decision on a second count that alleged that Radke used a deadly weapon in the killing. That meant at least some jurors believed a second person may have hit Rudiger repeatedly with the weapon, Deputy Dist. Atty. Daniel G. Lamborn said.

Although the beginning of the case was delayed for months with legal maneuvering over whether most of the evidence was legally obtained, prosecutors first mentioned the possibility of an accomplice when the trial began late last month. No other person has been implicated in the killing and the chances of finding that second person are remote, Lamborn said.

Rudiger’s family, however, expressed a measure of relief at the verdict. Jeffrey Rudiger’s sister, Kelly, who has served as the family’s spokeswoman, exclaimed, “Yes!” as the murder verdict was read, then sobbed.

Hurriedly walking out of the courtroom, however, Kelly Rudiger said she was not yet satisfied. “Not until sentencing,” she said.

Radke appeared impassive as the jury’s verdict was read and as he was led away by marshals. His father said he believes his son is innocent.

“I never will change my mind,” Elmer Radke said. “That’s all I have to say.”

Defense lawyer Douglas C. Brown promised an appeal.

“The jury apparently found that Mr. Radke did not wield the weapon in this particular case, so I question how they could find him guilty of the murder, especially a brutal murder like this, without a finding that he used the weapon,” Brown said.

Brown also said that though Radke appeared dispassionate, he was upset at the verdict.

“He was aware he could have been convicted,” Brown said. “Both of us are aware there are a lot of battles left to be fought on this one. He hasn’t given up hope, is a better way to put it.”

Jurors were escorted out the back door of the courtroom and were not available for interviews.

Jeffrey Rudiger, a junior at Mira Mesa High School, disappeared after work on the night of Jan. 21, 1988. His body was found the next day near a Scripps Ranch commercial center, dressed only in underwear and a T-shirt.

Rudiger was wearing handcuffs, had been bludgeoned on the head with a blunt object and had cuts on his body. Brown said at the trial that it appeared Rudiger was hit 26 times with a tire iron or similar object.

Radke, now 24, was arrested after Rudiger’s friends told police that he and Radke were working together on a secret project. Radke and Rudiger both worked at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Scripps Ranch, near where Rudiger’s body was found.

Before the case made it to trial, it generated three separate appeals over whether police had acted properly in detaining Radke for questioning after a traffic stop.

At one point, a state appellate court ruled that police were overzealous and violated Radke’s constitutional rights by placing him in handcuffs and by drawing a revolver. That decision appeared to make virtually all evidence in the case off limits to prosecutors.

But last September, San Diego Superior Court Judge Charles Hayes said officers had probable cause--or a “strong suspicion”--to arrest Radke before they ever saw him. A state appellate court upheld that decision in January, meaning all the evidence that officers later found was obtained legally.

At the trial, Brown contended that police took footprints at the scene and, when they compared the prints to Radke’s sneakers, found they were not his size.

Two bloody knives found at the scene have not been linked to Radke or anyone else, and no fingerprints could be taken off them, he said.

But Lamborn said blood spots that matched Rudiger’s blood type were found in Radke’s car trunk, in the wheel wells of his recently cleaned car and on his jacket.

He also said that Rudiger’s body had been dragged twice--once a distance of 70 to 80 feet, and again about 13 feet. He also said it had been dragged by two people.

Lamborn said blood spattering indicated one person held Rudiger’s legs while another held his head.

According to testimony, Rudiger told friends he had received wine coolers for taking part in the first phase of the purported project. But in an interview with police that was taped and played at the trial, Radke said he knew nothing about a “project” or “mission.”

Lamborn said after the verdict that a motive--like so many other aspects of the case--remained uncertain.

Radke “had a secret. I don’t know what the secret is,” Lamborn said. “He wanted to keep it fatally secret and he did it by killing Jeffrey Rudiger.”