Kolodziej an Inept Burglar, Judge Told : Trial: The prosecution argues that the fatal stabbing was a crime gone awry, not an act driven by psychosis.

The monthlong murder trial of Kevin Kolodziej drew toward a dramatic close Wednesday as a prosecutor argued that the fatal stabbing of Velasta Johnson was a burglary gone awry, not the act of a young man confused by psychosis.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Peter D. Kossoris said Kolodziej (pronounced Kul-LO-jee) entered Johnson’s Ventura home Jan. 17 with the intent to steal food, clothing and money. When he was startled by the 90-year-old woman, he stabbed her in the heart with a kitchen knife, Kossoris said in his closing arguments before Judge James M. McNally.

Kolodziej, 25, is charged with both murder and burglary. The combination of charges creates a special circumstance that allows prosecutors to seek a conviction for first-degree murder, which could result in life in prison without parole.

Defense attorneys, who have acknowledged that Kolodziej killed Johnson, will make their closing arguments today. During the trial, the defense has tried to establish that Kolodziej is a paranoid schizophrenic and that he did not enter Johnson’s home to commit burglary.

“Five doctors have testified Kevin is acutely schizophrenic,” Deputy Public Defender Steve P. Lipson said outside the courtroom. Just before the slaying, Kolodziej asked several people where he could get a shower, Lipson said, and he never wanted to steal anything from the Johnson home.

The final arguments cap the testimony of about 40 witnesses during the trial. McNally is hearing the case without a jury and is expected to rule on the case by the end of the week.

Proving the burglary is crucial to the prosecution because without it a conviction of first-degree murder is impossible. If the burglary is not proven, Kolodziej could still be found guilty of second-degree murder or manslaughter.

Defense attorneys hope to prove him not guilty by reason of insanity, which could result in hospitalization for an indefinite period. A sanity trial is expected to begin Monday.

Before the stabbing, Kolodziej escaped from a Ventura hospital where he was being treated for self-inflicted wounds and then wandered from house to house in a nearby residential neighborhood before entering the Johnson home.

“The defendant was essentially in the category of a homeless person, hungry, cold, needing money and wanting to make a call, most likely to his mother,” Kossoris said. “He entered with the intent to get food and clothes, and possibly to take a shower.”

He said the burglary does not have to be a “carefully thought-out plan.” It was cold that morning, and Kolodziej had already eaten an orange from a tree. He entered the rear door of the house without knocking and went to the kitchen, where a pie sat on a counter.

Kolodziej stabbed Johnson when she came to the kitchen to answer the telephone, then hid the knife in a closet, further showing he was thinking clearly, Kossoris said.

When police found Kolodziej at a neighbor’s house, he was coherent, he said. As police mistakenly looked for a gun as the murder weapon, the defendant told them it was a knife.

“It’s obvious the defendant is not a professional, sophisticated burglar,” Kossoris said. “We’re dealing with a guy who is relentlessly inept, has below-average intelligence, and didn’t do well in school and life.”

The prosecutor admitted that Kolodziej had significant mental problems. He said the evidence showed that he suffered from a “borderline” personality defect consistent with brief periods of psychotic behavior and depression.

“Just because he has a mental illness, doesn’t mean we throw away common sense,” Kossoris said. “People can be mentally ill and still form the intent to do acts. He intended to go into the house and steal.”

Defense attorney Lipson maintains that Kolodziej was suffering a psychotic episode when he went to the Johnson house. He left the hospital where he had food, clothing and showers. Before he went to the Johnson home, he went to two others asking where he could get a shower, he said.

“Is that typical of a homeless person?” he asked.