Trial Ordered for Woman Accused in Two Murders
A woman was ordered to stand trial on charges that she paid someone to murder her husband, then hired two men to kill the assassin, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
Mary Ellen Samuels is being held without bail while awaiting a May 8 arraignment on two counts of murder, plus special-circumstance charges of multiple murder and murder for financial gain, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Myron Jenkins. The arraignment was set during an appearance in San Fernando Municipal Court on Monday, Jenkins said. Additional charges may be filed during arraignment, he said.
Samuels, 43, allegedly hired James V. Bernstein to kill her husband, Robert Samuels, a motion picture cameraman whose work included films such as “Lethal Weapon II,” “Tequila Sunrise” and “Heaven Can Wait.” His body was discovered at his Sepulveda home in December, 1988.
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