Estonian Refugee Given Death Sentence in Slaying : Courts: Judge denies a new trial for the man convicted in the killing of a North Hollywood woman.

In an eleventh-hour attempt to save a convicted murderer from the death penalty, a defense attorney Thursday asked for a new trial, saying that his argument for a sentence of life in prison was hampered by “hyper-technical” rulings by the trial judge.

But San Fernando Superior Court Judge Howard J. Schwab denied the motion and sentenced Peter Sakarias, 24, to death for the brutal 1988 killing of Viivi Piirisild, 52, a North Hollywood woman active in the local Estonian community.

Another Estonian refugee, Tauno Waidla--like Sakarias, a deserter from the Soviet army--was previously found guilty in the slaying and sentenced to death.

Deputy Public Defender Daniel Blum also argued unsuccessfully to have the jury’s recommended death sentence reduced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, saying that because of Sakarias’ age, the long prison term would be a “severe penalty.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Steven J. Ipsen countered that the death penalty was appropriate to “compensate society” for Piirisild’s death.

Later, outside the courtroom, Ipsen said, “This kind of sentence doesn’t make you happy, but it was the right thing to do.”

During the proceedings, Sakarias--dressed in blue jail garb--at times laughed quietly, as he had done several times during his trial.

After sentencing, Sakarias--who did not speak in his own defense--stood up, smiled, shook Blum’s hand and said, “Thank you.”

Although the death sentence will automatically be appealed, Ipsen said he considered it the end of a sad chapter in the U.S. Estonian community that began as a joyous occasion.

Sakarias and Waidla, 24, had been warmly embraced as heroes by the Estonian community in the United States in 1987 after the men defected from the Soviet army and escaped from what was then communist East Germany.

Piirisild, a popular writer and broadcaster in the Estonian community, befriended them and allowed Waidla to live in her home with her and her husband for about a year.

But the relationship soured after the Piirisilds stopped helping the men because they refused to support themselves.

In a taped confession, Sakarias said he and Waidla killed Piirisild because she had told people in the Estonian community across the country not to help the men any longer, and the two had become hungry and desperate. He said they had planned to kill themselves, but decided to kill Piirisild first so that she could not laugh at their deaths.

On July 12, 1988, the two men broke into Piirisild’s North Hollywood home while she was away and waited for her to return. When she did, Waidla struck Piirisild on the head with the blunt end of a hatchet, and Sakarias stabbed her four times with such force that the blade broke. After dragging her body to a bedroom, Sakarias struck her again with the hatchet.

Using Piirisild’s credit card to purchase airline tickets, the men fled to New York and then Canada. They were captured at the border about a month later when they re-entered the United States.