Lawyer Describes Client as ‘Thief, Liar’

Murder suspect Raymond Stone was described Monday as “a thief, a liar and a gigolo” by his own attorney in an opening statement to the jury.

Defense attorney Sharyn Leonard told Superior Court jurors that Stone, 42, “never, never resorts to violence” and that “he is not a murderer.”

Stone is accused of killing Anita Dalfoss, 50, of El Cajon, who was last seen alive March, 14, 1989, and had a date that day with Nick Martinelli, an alias used by Stone.

Her skeletal remains were found in July, 1989, near Lake Henshaw, but a cause of death could not be determined.

The remarks by Leonard followed a lengthy opening statement by Deputy Dist. Atty. Kristin Anton, who detailed the circumstances of victims believed defrauded by Stone and how “a common thread” for each one was meeting Stone.

Stone is serving a nine-year sentence for burglarizing and stealing money and valuables from women he had met in bars in East County in 1989. At that time, he used the alias Martinelli.

“Raymond Stone is a con. Cons don’t use force. . . . When he steals from his victims, it is either given to him voluntarily or when they are absent,” Leonard said.

“He is a con artist, a confidence man. He is not a murderer.”

After Dalfoss disappeared, police recovered 11 rings that belonged to her in pawn shops, said Anton.