VENTURA : Death Penalty to Not Be Sought in Slaying

Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury said Thursday that he will not to seek the death penalty against Kevin John Kolodziej, the mentally ill drifter who is accused of stabbing 90-year-old Velasta Johnson to death in February in Ventura.

Kolodziej’s mental illness played enough of a role in the Feb. 20 killing to mitigate attempts to seek the death penalty, Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Vincent J. O’Neill Jr. said.

Prosecutors allege that on Feb. 20, Kolodziej walked away from the intensive care unit of the Ventura County Medical Center, where he had been treated for self-inflicted stab wounds and for his schizophrenia.

They say Kolodziej then wandered along Agnus Drive, walked into Johnson’s house and stabbed her once in the chest with a carving knife that had been sitting atop a pie in the kitchen.

“We feel that his mental illness played a significant enough role in this event that, despite the heinous nature of the crime itself in terms of the vulnerability of the victim and the invasion of her house . . . we view him as a degree less culpable than someone who might otherwise commit the same crime,” O’Neill said.

“We’re very relieved,” said Deputy Public Defender Steve Lipson, who is Kolodziej’s attorney. “We’re glad they made the right decision; we’re just surprised it took so long.”

Kolodziej has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and burglary and a special circumstances allegation that murder was committed in the course of a burglary. He also has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

If he is found guilty in his trial, which is scheduled to begin June 22, Kolodziej will face a second trial to determine whether he was legally sane at the time of the crime. If he is found to have been insane, he would be committed to a mental institution. If found sane, he would face a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole.