VAN NUYS : Girlfriend Mistreated Monkey, Suspect Says

A Van Nuys man Wednesday flatly denied that he killed his girlfriend’s pet monkey, and suggested instead that she had abused the creature named Amanda by forcing it to ingest vodka and methamphetamines, according to court testimony.

The unusual trial of James Mardis continued to take bizarre turns Wednesday as the prosecutor took the witness stand and testified under oath that the girlfriend and chief accuser, Victoria Walker, had lied earlier when she denied that she had taken drugs.

Mardis killed the monkey out of jealousy over the attention Walker was giving it, according to prosecutors.

But Mardis, taking the witness stand in his own defense, accused Walker of mistreating the 7-month-old Capuchin monkey.

Mardis testified that Walker, his girlfriend of about six weeks, would get into “mood swings.”

“She was unfit in her knowledge of taking care of the monkey,” Mardis testified. “She wouldn’t feed it regularly. She would lock it in the shower without food or water for several days at a time.”

Under questioning from his attorney, Mardis admitted that he was in Walker’s apartment the night the monkey died, but maintained that he entered through an unlocked front door.

Mardis acknowledged entering the residence three times while Walker was at work. He also admitted giving the animal a bath during one of his trips to the apartment.

Mardis, 21, is accused of burglarizing Walker’s Van Nuys apartment on March 4, 1992, and killing the monkey. He faces a maximum of nine years in prison if convicted.

In earlier testimony, Walker stated that Mardis had a chronic problem with methamphetamine. On Wednesday Mardis denied ever taking methamphetamine, and said he had observed Walker take the drug several times during their relationship.

The case was complicated when Deputy Dist. Atty. Kathleen M. Cady testified Wednesday that Walker knowingly committed perjury when she denied under oath taking methamphetamine. Both attorneys wanted Walker to testify, but investigators were unable to locate her Wednesday.