Jury Could Urge Death for Soviet Soldier : Courts: Final arguments heard in the penalty phase for an army deserter convicted of killing an Estonian activist in 1988.

The jury that convicted Soviet army deserter Tauno Waidla last month of killing an Estonian activist who took him into her North Hollywood home was asked Wednesday for its recommendation on whether Waidla should be sent to the gas chamber.

Final arguments from the prosecutor and Waidla’s attorney during the penalty phase of the trial lasted a little more than an hour.

“Tauno Waidla will die in prison,” his attorney, Martin R. Gladstein, told the jury. “Your decision in the guilt phase of the trial assures that. But who will decide when he dies? You? Or God?”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Steven J. Ipsen characterized the murder of Viivii Piirisild as “cold, calculated and deliberate” and said, “only a verdict of death can bring this case to justice.”

Waidla, 23, who was hailed as a hero after his defection to the United States, was convicted last month of six felony counts stemming from the July, 1988, killing of Piirisild, 52.

She was attacked with a hatchet in the entryway of her residence.

Because the murder was committed during a burglary, Waidla can be sentenced to death.

The penalty phase in some capital cases can take as long as several weeks as attorneys present evidence about the defendant’s character and personality. But Waidla’s hearing was brief.

Waidla slumped in his chair, hanging his head, as attorneys argued his fate.

The jury will make a recommendation, which San Fernando Superior Court Judge Howard J. Schwab will use when he imposes the sentence.

Piirisild was a popular member of the tight-knit Estonian community and news of her death shocked immigrants in Los Angeles and New York.

Waidla had lived with Piirisild and her husband for about a year before the killing, doing odd jobs in exchange for room and board.

But witnesses testified during Waidla’s trial that he became demanding and combative when support was cut off.

He also threatened Piirisild several times before the murder, according to trial testimony.