Attorney Admits Causing Delay in Recovery of Body

The weeklong search for Kali Manley was prolonged for days by the deliberations of a defense attorney--not by delay among prosecutors, as he said earlier.

Lewis “Chuck” Samonsky, the attorney for a suspect in Manley’s slaying, acknowledged Wednesday that he had inadvertently overstated the time it took prosecutors to weigh a crucial offer he made in the case.

Samonsky proposed that his client, David Alvarez, 22, lead police to Manley’s body in return for a promise that Alvarez would not face possible death-penalty charges.

Samonsky earlier said that negotiations with Dist. Atty. Michael Bradbury began on Tuesday, Dec. 22 and ended Thursday, Dec. 24. In fact, according to both attorneys, the talks began about noon that Thursday and culminated 5 1/2 hours later with Bradbury’s final rejection of any bargain.

The difference is important because hundreds of searchers were combing the area around Ojai for the 14-year-old girl as Samonsky grappled for four days with the ethical and legal dilemmas raised by his client’s apparent willingness to cooperate with the police.

The delay also meant the Manley family would spend further anguished days and nights not knowing whether their daughter was alive.

Samonsky had said that negotiations stretched over days partly because Bradbury had to locate key staff members who had scattered for the holidays.

However, Bradbury on Wednesday disputed that account.

“The entire negotiation took place between noon and 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 24,” he said.

Asked by a reporter about his original account, Samonsky conferred with Bradbury on Wednesday.

He later confirmed the prosecutor’s timeline.

“I talked with Mike and I believe he’s right,” Samonsky said, apologizing for his erroneous statement. “He kept notes and I didn’t.”

Samonsky was retained to represent Alvarez on Tuesday, Dec. 22.

He explained that he was intensely wrapped up in the case and failed to keep track of details that did not strike him as important at the time.

“I was obviously confused as to how much of that time I was engaged in negotiations with the district attorney’s office,” he said.

The discussions on Christmas Eve consisted of two meetings, the first at Bradbury’s office and the second at Samonsky’s.

Samonsky first tried to arrange for a charge no stiffer than manslaughter, Bradbury said.

Later, Samonsky modified his offer to exempt his client from the death penalty should murder charges be filed, according to Bradbury. “From the beginning, I told him I couldn’t make any commitments,” Bradbury said.

After late-afternoon calls to his top advisors, Bradbury told Samonsky there would be no deal.

On Christmas Day, Samonsky said he did further legal research.

After meeting with Alvarez and his parents, he called Bradbury in the evening to arrange a Saturday morning trip with Alvarez up California 33.

He led authorities to Manley’s body in a roadside drainage pipe 30 miles north of Ojai.