Retrial Begins in Killing of 2 Teens

Prosecutors and a defense attorney in the murder retrial of 16-year-old Michael Demirdjian offered dueling explanations Monday for why two boys were bludgeoned to death last year on a La Crescenta playground.

“Our theory is that this was a robbery. The robbery turns into a rage killing,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Steve Barshop in his opening statement in San Fernando Superior Court.

“The defendant is either the or a perpetrator,” Barshop said, outlining an ominous teenage underworld of gangs, conspiracies, drug deals and the violent attempts at revenge--which ultimately led to murder--for a drug-deal gone awry. “Police believe there are other people involved.”

But defense attorney Charles T. Mathews told jurors that another youth, named Adam Walker, was responsible for the deaths of 13-year-old Christopher McCulloch and 14-year-old Blaine Talmo Jr., whose battered bodies were found July 23, 2000, on the playground of Valley View Elementary School.

“Michael Demirdjian, the evidence will show, didn’t hurt or kill Blaine or Chris,” Mathews said, reiterating his argument presented in the first trial that the 16-year-old was merely a witness to the crime.

Demirdjian’s first trial ended in April with a deadlocked jury. He is charged with two counts of murder and robbery. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Similar Evidence, Different Juries

Much of the evidence to be presented during the retrial is essentially the same, according to both sides. But in some ways the pressures on them will be more intense this time around.

It is conventional wisdom in local legal circles that juries in San Fernando, where Demirdjian is being retried, are less sympathetic toward criminal defendants than jurors in Pasadena, where Demirdjian’s first trial was held.

Prosecutors this time are focusing on other teenagers who have not been charged with any crimes. But prosecutors say they were part of a conspiracy that ultimately led to the victims’ deaths.

Prosecutors said that a few days before the killings, Demirdjian used money provided by one of those teens, Damian Kim, to try to buy two ounces of high-potency marijuana for $660 from Walker, alleged to be a drug dealer. Talmo introduced Demirdjian to Walker, prosecutors said. But Walker and his friends allegedly took the money without giving drugs in return, Barshop said.

Feeling burned, Demirdjian, Kim and others tried to ambush Walker to get their money back, and the victims were killed during another attempt to attack Walker, Barshop said.

He outlined evidence that prosecutors plan to present to show a conspiracy, including 47 phone calls between Demirdjian and Kim before the murders and testimony that the two and their friends tried to ambush Walker.

But Mathews told jurors that prosecutors had it all wrong.

Teenagers Were Friends, Lawyer Says

“Here’s your killer: Adam Walker,” Mathews said, displaying photos of the skinny youth.

Demirdjian was the victims’ friend, Mathews said, and Walker was hanging out with the three boys one night--drinking and getting high--when he got into an argument with McCulloch. Walker flew into a rage and began bludgeoning the boy with a rock, and when Talmo intervened Walker attacked him, too, Mathews said.

Police and prosecutors said Walker is not a suspect in the murders. Demirdjian is expected to testify again in the retrial.