Defense Ends Case Without Calling Lindberg

SANTA ANA —  The defense in the murder trial of Gunner Lindberg presented its entire case in about an hour Wednesday without having the 22-year-old defendant take the stand to testify in his own behalf.

Lindberg could face the death penalty if he is convicted of murdering Thien Minh Ly in 1996 as the victim was practicing in-line skating on the tennis courts of Tustin High School.

The brief presentation was a dramatic contrast to a prosecution case that included DNA evidence, a letter written by Lindberg to cousin Walter Ray Dulaney IV boasting about the crime, and other testimony implicating Lindberg.

Dulaney’s father was one of three witnesses called by the defense, and he told the jury that his son is a “pathological liar.”

“He likes to tell big stories,” Walter Ray Dulaney III said. “He said he was a mechanic for [race car driver] Mario Andretti. I find he can’t even pull a spark plug out of a car.”

Under cross-examination, the senior Dulaney said he is close to his nephew and upset with his son for turning over the letter to police. Family members shouldn’t betray one another, he said.

Defense attorney David Zimmerman attempted to defuse the prosecution’s contention that Lindberg is a white supremacist who killed Ly out of racial hatred.

A former girlfriend of Lindberg testified that she never heard him use racial expletives during the three months they dated.

The younger Dulaney testified last week that he and Lindberg had formed a gang called the “Insane Criminal Posse” and that in 1995, they decided to turn it into a white supremacist gang.

Closing arguments in the case will take place today. The defense is expected to focus on disproving allegations that make Lindberg eligible for the death penalty.