Attorney Blasts Chan’s Labeling as Murder ‘Mastermind’ : Defense: He denies there’s evidence for such ‘finger-pointing’ and calls police and other suspects’ lawyers ‘irresponsible’ for publicly saying there is.

The attorney representing a youth implicated in the savage murder of a high school honors student lashed out Friday at police and other defense attorneys who have publicly suggested that his client was the mastermind of the crime.

“I don’t think there is any evidence (in the case) that deserves this type of finger-pointing,” said C. Thomas McDonald, who is representing 18-year-old Robert Chien-Nan Chan. “I think it’s totally irresponsible to make such charges.”

McDonald also said that the publicity surrounding the New Year’s Eve murder of Stuart Tay, 17, may taint the opinions of potential jurors and reduce the likelihood that Chan will get a fair trial. He said he is considering filing for a change of venue.

“If this continues, I can’t tell you what kind of disadvantage it puts us at for a trial,” McDonald said. “It’s really getting out of hand.”

Meanwhile Friday, the Tay family remained in seclusion. They did, however, attend a viewing of Stuart Tay’s body with about 150 friends and Foothill High School students. Tay’s body was displayed in an open casket at a Santa Ana funeral home. His funeral is scheduled for today.

Arrested on suspicion of murder were: Chan, Kirn Young Kim, 16, Mun Bong Kang, 17, and Charles Bae Choe, 17, all of Fullerton, and Abraham Acosta 16, of Buena Park.

Kim, Choe and Kang have pleaded not guilty to the murder charge and Acosta and Chan have not yet been arraigned. Chan, who is being held without bail at Orange County Jail, will plead not guilty, his attorney said.

Since the Jan. 4 arrests, police and some defense attorneys have accused Chan of orchestrating the slaying. A few attorneys have further suggested that their clients may have been manipulated by Chan.

But McDonald, who once represented serial killer Randy Steven Kraft, said those allegations are wrong and irresponsible.

“Co-defendants are to be expected to look for people to blame,” he said.

McDonald added that those charges “don’t fit” his client’s personality. “It’s totally out of character,” he said. “This is a kid that has never been in trouble, comes from a strong family with parents who love him and he loves them.”

At Fullerton’s Sunny Hills High School, Chan was even in line to be class valedictorian and participated in extracurricular activities, such as the school’s academic decathlon and Key Club.

But according to homicide investigators, Chan and the four other suspects--also students at Sunny Hills--lured Tay to Acosta’s house in Buena Park, beat him with baseball bats and a sledgehammer, poured rubbing alcohol down his throat, taped his mouth and then buried him in a shallow grave. Tay was asphyxiated and died.

Only Chan and Acosta actually struck blows, according to police reports. Acosta’s attorney has suggested that Chan manipulated her client. She added that she plans to have Acosta tested to determine whether he is mentally retarded.

Police contend that Tay was planning a computer heist with his attackers and was killed because they learned he lied to them about his identity and grew suspicious of his commitment to their robbery plans.