Retrial OKd in Ventura Murder Case

A Ventura County judge Friday granted a new trial for convicted murderer Bridget Callahan, saying her attorney failed to competently represent her in the case last fall.

The ruling by Superior Court Judge Vincent O’Neill Jr., which came after eight days of testimony, is extremely rare in criminal cases, said Kay Duffy, the lawyer who took on Callahan’s bid for a new trial and who will continue to represent her.

“Rarely do you see a motion like this granted,” Duffy said outside of court Friday. “But this was a very rare case, and it called for this decision.”

Callahan smiled at her mother in the front row as deputies led her out of the courtroom.

Deputy Atty. Gen. Michael Katz, who prosecuted Callahan in November, said he hasn’t determined whether he will appeal the judge’s ruling or push forward with a new trial. A trial date will be set May 2.

“I was surprised, and I’m not happy about it,” Katz said of the judge’s decision. “But it was a difficult decision for him, and I respect it.”

Callahan, 31, was convicted in November of first-degree murder with special circumstances for her role in the 1998 slaying of 17-year-old Nichole Hendrix.

Two skinhead gang members are accused of slashing the Ventura teenager to death in a motel room bathtub.

Callahan was suspected of aiding the two men by helping to kidnap and rob Hendrix and then standing guard outside the bathroom while she was killed.

Her conviction mandated life in prison without the possibility of parole.

But key evidence was never presented during trial that could have led to a much lighter sentence or even an acquittal for Callahan, Duffy and attorney James Farley argued during the new trial hearing, which began in March.

They laid the blame on Callahan’s former court-appointed lawyer, Joseph O’Neill, saying he was overwhelmed and unprepared for the high-profile case.

The result was an emotionally charged hearing that placed the lawyers, all associates with the same indigent-defense firm, in an awkward position.

“It was extremely difficult to go in and say that a lawyer didn’t handle a case properly,” Farley said. “Joe O’Neill is a competent lawyer. He made an error in judgment.”

O’Neill declined to comment Friday but testified at the hearing that he put on the best defense he could, given the “tsunami of evidence” against Callahan.

Judge O’Neill, who is not related to the attorney, agreed with Farley and Duffy.

The judge’s written ruling said a key factor was O’Neill’s failure to call Callahan to the witness stand to rebut the testimony of two crucial prosecution witnesses. Callahan, who tried to fire O’Neill three times, said she wanted to testify but O’Neill wouldn’t let her.

The court concluded that “the defense had no reasonable course other than to call the defendant, and that it was clear the benefits of that course would clearly outweigh the liabilities,” according to the judge’s ruling.

“Had the defendant testified, counsel would have had facts and a jury instruction on which to base a logical argument for a verdict more favorable than first-degree murder with special circumstances,” the ruling said.

Specifically, Duffy said, the defense could have argued that the kidnapping and robbery of Hendrix occurred after she and Callahan arrived at the Ventura motel room where Hendrix was eventually killed.

That would have enabled the jury to consider whether Callahan was under duress -- or fearful for her own life -- when she participated in the kidnapping and burglary of Hendrix, Duffy said. If Callahan was not convicted of those two felonies, she could not have been found guilty of murder.

“Introducing the duress issue would’ve possibly changed the verdict,” Duffy said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Ron Bamieh, the original prosecutor on the case before Katz took it over in 2001, said Callahan deserves no more than a second-degree murder conviction for her role in the Hendrix slaying. Callahan’s cooperation with authorities led to the arrest of the two skinhead gang members, David Ziesmer and Michael Bridgeford, who are still awaiting trial.”It was the right decision,” Bamieh said of O’Neill’s ruling.

Not everyone was pleased with the outcome, however.

Shelly Holland, Hendrix’s mother, left the courtroom in tears. She could not be reached for comment Friday, but Katz said the judge’s ruling was difficult on her.

“She’s taking it as well as she can,” Katz said. “These are the human consequences of legal decisions.”

Judge O’Neill acknowledged that difficulty after making his ruling.

“I don’t lightly overturn a jury verdict and put the victim’s family through another trial,” O’Neill told the court. “It may seem like the system failed today. But I don’t want to send someone to prison for life without parole with a substantial cloud of doubt over the case. To me, that would be a failure of the system.”