THOUSAND OAKS : Thornton Gave Self Up, Officer Testifies
A Superior Court jury learned Thursday that convicted killer Mark Scott Thornton surrendered to Glendale police after a warrant was issued for his arrest in 1992.
Thornton--convicted last month of murdering a Westlake nurse--was being sought in December, 1992, for violating a court order that had required him to stay away from a former girlfriend. The woman had accused Thornton of harassing her.
When he learned of the warrant, Thornton called Glendale police on Dec. 9 and surrendered at the station the next day, testified Officer Stephen Robertson, who booked the defendant.
Defense attorneys said Robertson’s testimony shows that Thornton is respectful to the police. The prosecution has accused Thornton of not respecting law and said that after killing the nurse on Sept. 14, 1993, he threatened to shoot an officer.
A Superior Court jury is deciding whether Thornton should live or die for the shooting death of Westlake nurse Kellie O’Sullivan.
Prosecutors say O’Sullivan was kidnaped in Thousand Oaks and then shot after being ordered to her knees in a remote location of the Santa Monica Mountains.
Ventura County Judge Charles R. McGrath recessed the trial until next week. It is expected to last another three weeks, lawyers said.
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