Lawyer says no physical evidence ties Douglas Bradford to 1979 killing

A lawyer for a man accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend in 1979 told jurors Tuesday the charges against his client were the result of shoddy and biased police work that implicated the wrong man.

Defense attorney Robert Shapiro said in opening statements that he would prove Douglas Bradford, 62, was telling the truth when he explained to investigators that he was sailing in Long Beach the night 27-year-old Lynne Knight was killed.

Shapiro said there were numerous holes in the prosecution’s case against Bradford, which languished for three decades until charges were filed in 2009. He said there was no blood, DNA or other physical evidence linking Bradford to the crime.

The case against Bradford is based on circumstantial evidence. Prosecutors contend Bradford was angry that Knight ended their relationship of about six months. They say Bradford stalked her during the weeks before her slaying and attacked her Aug. 30, 1979, in her home in Torrance with a homemade garrote and knife.

Shapiro hammered on what he characterized as sloppy police work. He noted that a blood-stained purse found next to Knight’s body had been released to another ex-boyfriend of Knight’s before it had been forensically tested.

Bradford was one of several men who had dated Knight in the months before her death, Shapiro said.

“She’s around men all the time, she’s very flirtatious, gives out her number all the time and lots of men know where she lives,” Shapiro said of Knight, who worked as a nurse at Little Company of Mary Hospital. “This is not to attack her character, but to find out the truth of the case.”

Shapiro also accused police of misinterpreting Bradford’s statements to make them seem incriminating when they were not.

For example, prosecutors contend that Bradford slipped up when he acknowledged that his ex-girlfriend was dead, even though police had not yet revealed to him that she had been slain.

Deputy Dist. Atty John Lewin said Monday that when police asked Bradford to describe his relationship with Knight, he responded: “She’s just dead and something I want to put out of my mind.”

Shapiro disputed that, telling jurors that Bradford said: “It’s just dead.” It was a figure of speech, referring to their relationship after the break-up, Shapiro explained.

The attorney then played the tape for jurors, which was difficult to hear because it was laden with feedback and static.

“We’re going prove to you without any doubt that Doug Bradford did not say ‘she,’” Shapiro said.

Shapiro said he would also prove Bradford was telling the truth about sailing in Long Beach on the night Knight was killed. He said an experienced skipper would vouch for Bradford’s explanation of his nighttime trip.

“After you hear all of the evidence in this case, you will certainly have a very valid reason to come up with theories that are reasonable,” Shapiro told jurors, “other than the one [presented] by the prosecution.”

The trial resumes Wednesday.

Twitter: @ryanvmenezes