Sylmar Man Charged With Slaying Couple

As tearful survivors of the victims looked on, a 23-year-old Sylmar man was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the deaths of an elderly couple who owned a popular North Hollywood restaurant.

Israel Cebrera Pulido, who had worked for Sabato “Sabby” Russo and his wife, Eugenia, was also charged with the special circumstances of burglary, robbery, avoiding arrest, torture and multiple murders in connection with the beating and stabbing deaths of the North Hollywood couple, who were both 73.

“This subjects him to the death penalty,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Kenneth Barshop said.

Because Pulido’s arraignment was postponed for a week, he did not have to appear Tuesday before Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Michael M. Duffey, disappointing the 25 to 30 relatives of the Russos in the audience.

“I want to see his face,” the Russos’ daughter, Rosanna Tolino of Studio City, said outside the Van Nuys courtroom. “My parents . . . when he came into their house, they had to see his face.”

The Russos owned Sabatino’s Italian Restaurant and Bakery, a fixture in North Hollywood for nearly 20 years, popular with police officers, boxers from a nearby gym and people from the entertainment industry.

Early last week, Pulido was part of a work crew that installed a wooden floor at the Russo home in the 6300 block of Bellaire Avenue, according to police. He allegedly returned to the home last Wednesday to rob the Russos, who were later found beaten and stabbed to death.

A search of Pulido’s residence turned up several items from the Russo home, as well as knives believed to have been used in the killings, police said.

Prosecutors will decide whether to seek the death penalty after preliminary hearings, Barshop said.

Pulido is being held without bail.

Gathering outside the Van Nuys courthouse Tuesday, family members who came from as far away as Oregon, Washington, Utah and even Naples, Italy, hugged and walked away slowly after sitting together an entire day in court, waiting to see the defendant accused of killing their beloved “Sabby” and “Genny.”

“It’s a typical Italian thing to do. You stay close. Everybody’s here,” said Connie Laslow, a cousin from Portland, Ore.

Filomena D’Amore, a cousin from Agoura, said: “It’s just unbelievable. All my life Sabby cared for me. He and his wife, they were the sweetest.”

A rosary for the Russos is scheduled for 7 p.m. today at J.T. Oswald Mortuary, 11020 Camarillo St., in North Hollywood. The couple’s funeral will be Thursday at 11 a.m., at St. Francis de Sales Church, 13360 Valleyheart Drive, in Sherman Oaks.