Miralle Lawyer Questions Loans Made by Victim

Attorneys for Donald Miralle of La Canada Flintridge, on trial on charges that he strangled his wife of 21 years and left her body burning in a remote part of San Bernardino County, said others had reason to kill Tessie Miralle.

Defense lawyer A. Brent Carruth of Woodland Hills, head of a three-lawyer team, said, “Evidence will show a number of people had reason to kill” Mrs. Miralle.

Defense lawyers have contended outside court that Mrs. Miralle ran the equivalent of a loan-sharking operation. Carruth asserted outside the trial in Victorville Superior Court last week that Tessie Miralle, a native of the Philippines, had dealings with people in the Philippines other than ones in her legitimate export-import business, but he declined to elaborate before the defense portion of the trial.

But during cross-examination of prosecution witnesses last week, lawyers began establishing their defense of Miralle, 47, a Pasadena civil engineer.

For example, the defense alleged that Erlinda Balacuit, a close friend of Tessie Miralle’s, had borrowed thousands of dollars from the murdered woman.

Defense attorney Nancy Ferrazza alleged that Balacuit, who runs a home-nursing service, wrote checks to repay the money from her Monrovia business account to hide the loan from her husband, Dr. Peter Balacuit.

Ferrazza said that although Balacuit wrote many checks for real estate expenses on a personal account held jointly with her husband, $5,200 had been paid from her business account.

But Balacuit said she merely repaid Tessie Miralle for the Balacuits’ share of improvements to a La Canada Flintridge business property that the two couples owned together. She also explained an $11,500 promissory note to Mrs. Miralle as a commission for saving $85,000 on the property’s purchase price.

Balacuit, who first took the stand last week, denied borrowing any money from Tessie Miralle in the six years she knew her.

Tessie Miralle, 49, disappeared Sept. 12, 1990, after missing a lunch date with Balacuit. Her charred remains were found the next day on a remote dirt road near Victorville. Her husband was arrested a few weeks later, but has remained free on $500,000 bail.

The Miralles’ daughter, Anita, 20, and housekeeper Marietta Tajac, 23, reported Mrs. Miralle missing the morning her body was discovered.

Tajac testified that she kept books for Mrs. Miralle, whom she described as a confidante, but said she did not know the significance of the accounts she kept.

Anita Miralle said her mother sold jewelry to friends on a payment plan and kept envelopes with receipts and payments recorded on them. She also testified that she knew her mother lent money to friends at high interest rates.

Earlier in the week, Judge Frederick A. Mandabach ruled that an unidentified phone call to a Pasadena tire store could be used as prosecution evidence. Donald Miralle told investigators he discarded a set of Uniroyal Tigerpaws for his Chevrolet Suburban when he bought a new set at the store Sept. 15, 1990.

A set of tire tracks found near Tessie Miralle’s body were identified as Uniroyal Tigerpaws.

The trial, which began last week, is expected to continue for about two months.