Judge Exonerates 3 Deputies in Woman’s Death

A federal judge Monday dismissed a lawsuit against three Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who were accused in civil actions of killing a Van Nuys woman after a night of heavy drinking and sex in early 1988.

U.S. District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer--who earlier had dismissed another, similar suit--granted a summary judgment in favor of deputies Robert Mallon, Robert Waters and Michael Turner in a wrongful death claim filed by Edward Postma, the dead woman’s father.

The deputies were sued separately by Edward and Mary Postma, the divorced parents of Catherine Braley, 26, who was found beaten and strangled in a Van Nuys parking lot Jan. 15, 1988. The previous night she had gone to a nearby bar where the three off-duty deputies had gone after a fellow deputy’s funeral.

No arrest has ever been made in Braley’s slaying, and the deputies have denied any involvement. Los Angeles police, who investigated the case, have repeatedly said the deputies are not suspects.

The deputies’ attorney, David D. Laurence, said the judge’s ruling exonerated them of allegations that have had severe professional and personal impacts on them. He would not elaborate. All three remain deputies, he said.

“They are certainly happy this is over,” Laurence said. “It’s been a three-year nightmare for them. They had nothing to do with the killing.”

In a deposition taken for the lawsuits, Mallon said he met Braley at the bar and they later had sex, which she agreed to, but that she was alive when he dropped her off on a street corner about a block from where her body was found the next day.

In her $10-million lawsuit, Mary Postma accused the deputies of violating Braley’s constitutional rights by killing her while acting in their capacity as law officers. The suit alleged Braley was killed when she refused to have sex with the deputies. That case was later dismissed by Pfaelzer and is being appealed by Mary Postma.

Edward Postma, an Iowa resident who has since died, also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the deputies in federal court, which hears cases involving residents of different states. After Postma died, Pfaelzer ruled that his widow, Linda Postma, could continue the lawsuit.

But after a hearing on the case Monday, Pfaelzer found in favor of the deputies who argued that there was no evidence that they had anything to do with Braley’s killing, Laurence said.

“We feel this is the end of this case,” Laurence said.

Stephen Yagman, the attorney who filed both lawsuits on behalf of the Postmas, could not be reached for comment.