Change of Venue OKd for Accused Double Murderer

A paroled rapist accused of killing two college students will not be tried in San Luis Obispo County because heavy pretrial publicity has tainted the prospective jury pool, an appellate court ruled Tuesday.

The decision by the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Ventura overturns a ruling by San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Barry LaBarbera, who two months ago denied a change of venue for murder defendant Rex Allen Krebs.

Defense lawyers appealed the decision to a three-judge panel, which concluded that Krebs could not get a fair trial in San Luis Obispo because news reports on the case had saturated the small coastal community.

Prosecutors are considering whether to file a petition for a hearing on the venue question before the California Supreme Court.

“We’re very disappointed,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. John Trice. “We agreed with Judge LaBarbera’s ruling and were confident we could find 12 people who could make a decision.”

If prosecutors decide not to go before a higher court, the matter will be referred to the Judicial Council of California, which would select three counties where the trial could be held, he said. Lawyers and the trial judge will make the final choice.

Monterey and Santa Barbara counties are likely choices, attorneys said.

The district attorney is seeking the death penalty for Krebs, who is charged with killing Rachel Newhouse, a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo junior from Irvine, and Aundria Crawford, a Cuesta College sophomore from Clovis, Calif.

Newhouse disappeared after leaving a fraternity party on Nov. 12, 1998. Crawford allegedly was abducted from her downtown apartment on March 10, 1999.

The bodies of the two 20-year-olds were later found near remote property in Avila Beach that Krebs, a 33-year-old lumberyard manager, had been renting.

Defense lawyers say the slayings touched a nerve in the community, generating more than 1,200 newspaper articles and 10 1/2 hours of television newscasts since the first disappearance.

A survey commissioned by the defense found that 97% of 320 people questioned had heard about the case and that 81% believed Krebs to be guilty.

“We’re gratified that when the Court of Appeal looked at the situation, they found it was a case that needs to be tried someplace else,” said defense attorney Jim Maguire.

He noted that a survey in neighboring Monterey County revealed that only 16% of those questioned had heard about the case.

Krebs is charged with murder, rape and kidnapping as well as various special circumstance allegations making him eligible for the death penalty. His trial is expected to last about two months.