Countywide : Tay Murder Suspect to Get Separate Trial

In a setback for prosecutors, a judge granted a separate trial Tuesday for the alleged ringleader in the 1992 New Year’s Eve murder of honor student Stuart A. Tay.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Kathleen E. O’Leary said she was exercising her discretion to protect Robert Chan, 19, of Fullerton. If all four teen-agers were tried together, the judge said, Chan would probably find himself fingered for the murder from both sides of the attorneys’ table.

“Mr. Chan suffers the risk he will not--and I think it’s a serious risk--get a fair trial,” O’Leary said.

The ruling paves the way for Chan’s murder trial to begin next week. And it places an added burden on Deputy Dist. Atty. Lewis R. Rosenblum, who is now faced with preparing for a new case, requiring witnesses to testify twice and re-evaluating prosecution strategies on the eve of trial. More seriously, Rosenblum said, the co-defendants can now blame the murder on Chan, and he on them, leaving jurors confused.

“It’s a real advantage to the defense,” Rosenblum said outside court. “Basically, they can say whatever they want with impunity, and I’m limited in how I can rebut that.”

The murder of Tay, a 17-year-old student at Foothill High School in Santa Ana, shocked Orange County and gained nationwide attention as a symbol of juvenile crime spiraling out of control.

Charged with Chan are Abraham Acosta, 17, of Buena Park and Mun Bong Kang, 18, and Kirn Young Kim, 18, both of Fullerton. All are former students at Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton. A fifth youth, Charles Bae Choe, 18, of Fullerton, has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the case and has agreed to testify against the other teen-agers.

Tay was bludgeoned before rubbing alcohol was forced down his throat and his mouth was taped shut. He was then buried in a back-yard grave.

Authorities believe the youths were planning a computer heist with Tay. They allegedly attacked Tay after learning he had lied about his name and residence, fearing that he might turn them in, officials said.

Defense attorneys in the case plan to show that their clients believed Chan was a dangerous gang member, feared him and were coerced into carrying out the crime.

Defense attorney Marshall M. Schulman, who represents Chan, said he wanted a separate trial because he also expects the three co-defendants will try to portray his client as the “heavy” who masterminded the murder.

“That’s just not true,” he said, adding that his client is not a gang member.

The trial of the three co-defendants will follow Chan’s trial.

After the severance hearing, Schulman and Rosenblum discussed questions that will be asked of prospective jurors. Key areas of concern are whether prospective jurors have been swayed by extensive media coverage of the case and whether the race of the defendants could play a role.

“I hope a jury in Orange County is not going to allow any racial prejudice against Asians to affect their deliberations in the case,” Schulman said outside court. If it proves impossible to find jurors who have not made up their minds about the case, he will seek a trial in another county, he said.

“Maybe Simi Valley,” he quipped.