Murder Trial of Hare Krishna Devotee Near End

The prosecution began its closing arguments Wednesday in the trial of a Hare Krishna devotee charged with murdering a critic of the faith.

Thomas Drescher, 42, is charged with the March 22, 1986, murder of Stephen L. Bryant, a disillusioned Krishna follower who had called for the death of Kirtanananda Swami Bhaktipada, Drescher’s spiritual leader.

Prosecutors contend that Drescher shot Bryant twice in the head with a .45-caliber pistol as the victim sat in his parked van a few blocks from the Hare Krishna temple in West Los Angeles.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Sterling Norris is scheduled to finish his arguments Monday in Van Nuys Superior Court, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office. The trial is expected to go to the jury by the middle of next week, she said.

Bryant, of Royal Oak, Mich., died about a year after launching a crusade against Bhaktipada, whom Bryant accused of drug trafficking, prostitution and child abuse.