Editorial Reply - Charles Mathews

Charles T. Mathews

I don’t know why the News-Press chose to publish such a stupid and

misguided editorial Sept. 6. You ran this editorial without speaking to

me and inquiring about why I said what I in fact, did say.

Subsequent events show it was your paper that jumped the gun, not me.

I am a former deputy district attorney for the County of Los Angeles.

I take my job very seriously. I have never knowingly, misrepresented any

fact to the public or to the press. The paper suggested that I am the

kind of lawyer who gives criminal defense lawyers a “bad name,” is

without any basis in fact or truth. I resent what I believe, was an

attempt by your editorial to paint Michael Demirdjian as likely to be

guilty of this crime, when in fact, not only is he presumed innocent, but

he’s been demanding and begging the police to let him take a lie-dector

test to help prove that he is in fact, innocent.

Your attitude suggests that Demirdjian must be guilty. How can you

play cavalierly with a young man’s life and reputation? Have you

forgotten that Glendale Police Department arrested five youths in this

case as “suspects” and then released them? Have you forgotten that

Demirdjian has told the police who the real killer is and that he will

take a lie detector test conducted by the police to prove it? Why won’t

the Glendale Police Department give him a lie detector test? Are they

afraid he is telling the truth, proving that they have accused and jailed

an innocent while the real killer escapes?

In the Forensics Science Laboratory’s Toxicology Report dated Aug. 3,

which wasn’t furnished to me until Sept. 13 by the Glendale Police

Department, you will see that this relates to tests done on the blood and

urine of one of the victims in this tragic, terrible case. The report

reflects under “Blood, Heart” Alcohol, Ethanol 0.02%. You reported in

your paper, and you suggested that somehow, that mislead the press an the

public. But the News-Press didn’t immediately report that under the

heading “Urine,” the word “Alcohol” again appears the word “Ethanol”

appears under the category labeled “drug,” and the level is recorded at

0.08%, the legal limit for driving a car. What that mean is that at the

time of Mr. McCulloch’s death he had the legal limit of blood alcohol in

his system.

Your editorial suggests that the other tests confirm that neither

victim had smoked marijuana. Once again, you either did not know, or

cavalierly failed to consider the fact that the test done for marijuana,

may well have serious limitations dependent on the individual’s prior

history, biology and timing of marijuana usage.

Your newspaper, along with the other news organizations that appeared

at various times on this case, repeatedly hounded me to tell them what my

client’s position regarding this case was. I find it incredible, that you

would criticize me for restating to you, that which your newspaper and

others demanded that I give them. What I said was paraphrasing what my

client has told the police. As I told your reporter, Demirdjian has told

the police exactly what happened, who did it, and how it happened. I have

relayed that information accurately to your reporter and others who have

been hounding us to make such a statement. The fact that you would then

choose, to criticize me for acquiescing to your demanding the story,

borders on utter hypocrisy.

I am doing my best to defend a 15-year-old boy who is presumed to be

innocent and who has stated, repeatedly, that he is, in fact, innocent.

If what Demirdjian says is true, he is the only eyewitness to what

actually happened, and he is prepared to confirm that under oath, in

court and prior to court on a polygraph examination, so that the actual

perpetrator of these crimes can be arrested and charged.

His guilt or innocence will be resolved in court. I am convinced that

the district attorney prosecuting this case, Steven Barshop, is of the

highest integrity, and I know him to be one of the finest prosecutors in

the district attorney’s office.

One final note, in the discovery that was just produced by the police,

I have learned that the police apparently recovered a broken bottle of

wine at the scene of the crime. This confirms what Demirdjian has stated.

Additionally, we are awaiting DNA testing on blood stains that were found

on clothing belonging to two other suspects in this case.

I would ask you to explore in good faith, the accuracy of our ability

to test for marijuana in a person who doesn’t use it regularly, or hasn’t

smoked it for a long period of time. I think you will find that there are

some severe limitations on the ability of the tests done by the coroner’s

office to confirm recent usage of marijuana.

* Charles T. Matthews is the defense attorney for Michael Demirdjian,

who is accused of killing Blaine Talmo Jr. and Christopher McCulloch at

Valley View Elementary School in June.