Testimony Opens in Trial of L.A. Man Accused of Torture, Murder

Testimony began Monday in the trial of a Los Angeles County man accused of torture and murder in the death of man whose body was found in a remote area of Ventura County.

Spencer Brasure, 28, of Hawthorne, is accused of killing a 20-year-old Redondo Beach man after hours of alleged torture by electrical shock.

According to witness accounts, Brasure and co-defendant Billy Davis, 21, of Lawndale, bound victim Anthony Guest by his hands and feet with plastic garbage-bag ties before abusing him for hours.

Brasure allegedly shocked Guest with a makeshift electrical device. One witness, who is expected to take the stand today, said the shocks caused Guest to moan through the duct tape that sealed his mouth.

Brasure also allegedly stapled wood to Guest’s ear using an industrial stapler and beat him in the head after placing a broken beer bottle in his mouth.

Prosecutors say Brasure and Davis then drove Guest to a remote area of northern Ventura County near Gorman to kill him.

Two maintenance workers found Guest’s badly burned body beneath a juniper bush at the Hungry Valley State Vehicle Recreational Area on Sept. 13, 1996.

Although most of the alleged crimes occurred in Los Angeles County, the investigation has been handled by local authorities because Guest’s remains were found in Ventura County.

On Monday, Ventura County prosecutors opened their case by calling a series of law enforcement officials who initially responded at the scene.

Sheriff’s Det. Daniel Thompson recalled the desolate campsite where Guest’s charred remains were found. He said it “smelled like death” and it appeared Guest had been set on fire.

A burned-out road flare was in the dirt nearby, Thompson said. Later in the investigation, authorities found pieces of plastic garbage ties, duct tape and staples in the spot where Guest’s body was found.

Brasure and Davis face separate trials. Brasure, who is being tried first, is charged with first-degree murder, torture, kidnapping and related charges.

He also is accused of threatening to kill five witnesses on a so-called “rat list” who were scheduled to testify at his preliminary hearing last year.

If convicted, Brasure could face the death penalty. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty against Davis, whose case is set for trial in the fall.