Case Against Brando Erodes : Trial: The prosecution refuses to negotiate a settlement in murder case--so far. But the inability to subpoena Cheyenne Brando is regarded as a major hurdle.

The murder case against Marlon Brando’s son, Christian--once described by authorities as airtight--has been unravelled significantly by the prosecution’s inability to subpoena a key witness and introduce as evidence a taped interrogation of the suspect.

With the trial scheduled to begin Nov. 5, the district attorney’s office is holding fast to its position of refusing to negotiate a settlement with young Brando in the high-profile case. But there are growing signs of concern among prosecutors about proving a murder charge.

The 32-year-old welder, Brando’s eldest son, is charged with murdering Dag Drollet, his sister’s lover, last May in the actor’s hilltop compound on Mulholland Drive.

The defense has tried a plea bargain reducing the charge to voluntary manslaughter. But the case appears inexorably headed for trial. Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Robert Thomas has ordered in 255 prospective jurors. Each who is not excused for hardship--the trial is expected to last several months--will be asked to fill out a long questionnaire before being interviewed about what they know of the case, their view of the defendant’s movie star father and their personal use of alcohol and drugs, among other things.

The problem haunting the prosecution is what most participants concede is bumbled police work, which has rendered the defendant’s taped statements inadmissible and allowed his sister to travel home to Tahiti, beyond the reach of U.S. law.

Prosecutors, however, have said that a plea bargain might be misconstrued by the public as favoritism toward a Hollywood legend, thus complicating efforts to resolve the case without a trial.

Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner was ill Thursday and could not be reached for comment on his position on a possible plea bargain. However, Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Greg Thompson said through a spokesman that while prosecutors are “ethically bound to discuss disposition of the case” with the defense, “our present efforts are focused on getting our key witness, Cheyenne, back to Los Angeles to testify.”

If that effort fails, prosecutors said they might be more amenable to a plea bargain. But by then, the defense may prefer to take its chances by going to trial.

“It’s gamesmanship,” grinned Deputy Dist. Atty. Bill Clark.

If prosecutors decide to go to trial, they must make a host of other strategic decisions: Should they call Marlon Brando as a witness before the defense does? Can they force Christian Brando to take the stand by keeping out testimony from a policeman who might support his “accident” defense? Can they establish through other witnesses that Brando threatened Drollet previously? Would Brando’s girlfriend be an asset or a liability as a witness?

Cheyenne Brando was the last person to see Drollet alive, other than the defendant. She took a flight to Tahiti last June after telling police that the shooting was “not an accident. It was a murder, in case you don’t know it.” She has since told authorities in Tahiti that her father and her brother’s girlfriend also were involved--and even suggested to a French judge that he view “The Godfather” to understand the story. But none of her statements is admissible unless defense attorneys can cross-examine her.

Authorities here made no move to prevent her from leaving the country, they said, because Marlon Brando assured them that she would remain in Los Angeles for the birth of Drollet’s and her child. Once home in Tahiti, she was charged by the French government as an accomplice in the death of Drollet, a French citizen, and forbidden to leave.

After being rebuffed by state or federal courts, prosecutors have now requested that the U.S. State Department ask the French for help. Without her, prosecutors say privately, they have little chance of proving even murder in the second degree.

“When you get into the area of murder, you’re looking at (the defendant’s) state of mind,” said Clark. “Cheyenne is the key, and we’re not optimistic about getting her back.”

Another setback involves a statement Christian Brando gave police. Prosecutors intended to use it to prove that the shooting was premeditated. In it, Brando said he had stopped off at his girlfriend’s apartment to retrieve the .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol used in the shooting minutes later.

However, because the police detective conducting the interview did not properly advise him of his Miranda rights, the entire statement has been ruled inadmissible.

Should the case go to trial, it is certain to produce a legal spectacle, even though Marlon Brando will be barred because he is expected to be a witness.

Already, pretrial hearings have attracted paparazzi from around the world. The crush of spectators has led to reserved seating for reporters and roped-off areas for cameras at Santa Monica’s small courthouse. The magnet? Appearances by Marlon Brando, once reclusive but now made garrulous by his son’s legal predicament.

Not all spectators are Brando fans. A contingent from Tahiti, including the victim’s parents, has attended some pretrial hearings and plans to attend in hopes of seeing the killer punished.

Jacques Drollet, Dag’s outspoken father, told The Times in a telephone interview that he is incensed his son is being portrayed as a woman-beater and Cheyenne Brando as his unfortunate victim.

“We are aware that the closer we get to the trial, the more desperate Marlon Brando will feel and the more dirt and mud he will shovel on my son and his family.

“He told police that Dag had never beaten Cheyenne; he knows Dag is a very gentle young man. But maybe he had to sing another song or change the words for the benefit of his case.” (The elder Brando now contends he has proof that his daughter was beaten, a crucial part of the defense.)

“Brando is an actor and even in his private life he is always acting. He can cry and lie like a horse can run. But this is Mr. Marlon Brando in his worst role, his worst scenario. I think he is making the whole case his own case.”

Drollet said that although Cheyenne has been hospitalized twice in Papeete for drug detoxification, she appears to be in fine fettle:

“She is now out having a good time. She is roaming about in Papeete, the main town of Tahiti, where she has been seen shopping with her mother, Tarita, and her infant son, Tookie,” Drollet said. “She is also going out to the beaches and the nightclubs with her new Italian boyfriend.”

Drollet expressed hope that the case would go to trial. “The procedure for murder shouldn’t be stopped along the way--the American and French justice system must go to the end of the road.”