Eddington’s Behavior Described as Odd

Three former girlfriends of accused killer Leonard Earl Eddington II testified Wednesday that the Navy lieutenant commander acted strangely both before and after his wife disappeared.

The daughter of one of the women also said that Eddington predicted that his wife’s body would be recovered from the yard of his Jamul residence.

The testimony came near the conclusion of the prosecution’s case in the trial, which started Monday.

Eddington, 44, is charged with murder and murder for financial gain in the bludgeoning death of his wife, Vicki Eddington. The severely decomposed remains of the 29-year-old woman were found last December in the back yard of the Eddington’s home.

Vicki Eddington’s abandoned Volvo was found July 31, 1987, along California 94. An expert from the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. testified Wednesday that two holes in a flat tire on the car had been made from the inside of the tire and that the tire had been carefully replaced on its rim.

The series of girlfriends started with Karen Golembiewski, an employee at Grossmont Hospital. (Vicki Eddington was scheduled to work at the same hospital when she disappeared on July 30, 1987.)

Golembiewski testified that Eddington once gave her a book that featured killing tactics.

She also described how Eddington said he suspected his wife of developing a ploy in order to leave and how he had poked a hole in a tire to see if the vehicle could be driven 4 miles.

Golembiewski, echoing sentiments heard throughout the afternoon of testimony, said that she broke up with Eddington because “he was lying to me.”

Karen Fields, a legal secretary, testified she was engaged to Eddington even before his wife was killed. Eddington told her he had been divorced for two years and that he was a Navy pilot, she testified. Eddington is a Navy maintenance officer.

Fields testified that Eddington canceled a date with her on the night Vicki Eddington disappeared, saying that his brother’s car had broken down and he had to help him fix it. The next day when the abandoned car was discovered, Eddington also canceled an appointment and “stated some kind of emergency had come up--he was very agitated,” she testified.

Imogene Carver testified how Eddington persuaded her to call his wife’s bank and order checks in her name. Eddington told her the money would be used for his three children, she testified.

Carver’s daughter, Natalie Kinlin, followed her mother to the witness stand and said that Eddington described his missing wife as a careless homemaker and poor mother.

“He said he wouldn’t be surprised if she turned up in his back yard on his property,” Kinlin said.

The 20-year-old woman also testified that Eddington had suspected his wife of running off with a California Highway Patrol officer.

Attorney Milly Durovic will begin presenting the defense’s case today).