Parents Testify Son’s Behavior Deteriorated Before Killing

As the murder trial of an Encino man charged with killing his uncle with a baseball bat began Thursday, his parents testified that the fatal beating occurred after family members attempted to place their son in a psychiatric hospital.

Douglas Hartman, 23, is charged with killing Arthur Hartman, a 57-year-old Calabasas dentist, on July 28, 1989.

According to authorities, the victim was killed when he was clubbed on the head with a baseball bat after Douglas Hartman became violent in the home he shared with his parents.

The defendant’s mother and sister were injured slightly. Investigators said Douglas Hartman has had problems with manic depressive behavior for several years and had once assaulted a member of his family.

Douglas Hartman’s mother testified Thursday that immediately before the incident, his behavior had deteriorated and he had become withdrawn. “He was not right,” she said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Kenneth A. Loveman said Hartman was ruled unfit to stand trial after his arrest but was later found competent after treatment at a psychiatric facility.

In his opening statement, Hartman’s attorney, Mark E. Overland, said his client showed no prior malice toward his uncle and did not mean to kill him.

Testifying as a defense witness in the non-jury trial before Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Darlene Schempp, Ronald and Phyllis Hartman said that on the morning of the fatal beating their son ran away from security guards they had called to escort him to a hospital. When he returned several hours later, he was dazed, dirty and talking incoherently, his father said.

The victim confronted Hartman at the front door with a blackjack-style club, the father testified.

The defendant’s mother testified that her son went to his bedroom, got a baseball bat and returned and exchanged blows with his uncle, fatally injuring him.

Loveman cited discrepancies between Phyllis Hartman’s testimony and statements she gave after the incident, but she said her son was provoked into fighting with his uncle.

The trial is scheduled to continue Monday.