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Horowitz Takes Stand In Murder Trial Of Scott Dyleski
(CBS 5 / AP / BCN) — MARTINEZ Biting his lip, his voice shaky, prominent defense lawyer Daniel Horowitz described Tuesday how he immediately sensed something was wrong before finding his wife’s bludgeoned body at their hilltop estate.
Taking the stand at the murder trial of his 17-year-old neighbor, Horowitz testified he hadn’t expected his wife, Pamela Vitale, to be at home when he arrived the evening of Oct. 15. She was supposed to be at a ballet in Berkeley with a friend.
When he saw her Mercedes at their hilltop Lafayette estate, “I just knew it was not good,” he said. “I opened the front door and the minute I opened the door I just saw. It was just a scene of blood and Pamela lying there.”
Scott Dyleski has pleaded not guilty to murdering the 52-year old Vitale as part of a scheme to use stolen credit cards to fund a marijuana growing operation. He’s being tried as an adult and could face life in prison, if convicted.
The packed gallery in Contra Costa County Superior Court sat silent as Horowitz who rose to national prominence commenting on the Scott Peterson murder trial faced the man accused of killing his wife of more than a decade.
“She was strong in a kind way,” Horowitz said of his wife. “Strong in a gentle, caring way. Pamela would not lash out and try to hurt on her own, ever.”
He methodically, but emotionally described his actions the day of his wife’s death, leading up to finding his wife’s curled-up body inside the door in what looked like a crime scene photo.
“Even though I knew she was dead, I touched her,” he said, putting his fingers to the side of his neck. “There was so much blood. Her hand was in a claw shape. … It was just so obvious (she was dead),” he said.
Horowitz had left his wife sleeping that Saturday morning when he went to meet colleagues to work on the case of Susan Polk, who was accused of murdering her therapist husband. Polk was convicted after Horowitz withdrew from the case.
When he tried to call Vitale later in the day, he couldn’t reach her. He went to the gym and ran some errands before arriving about 6 p.m. at the mobile home where they were living while their dream home was being built on the property, he said.
When he got to the front door of the mobile home, he found smears of what looked like blood on it.
“I just knew it wasn’t good,” he said. He said his body was moving faster than his brain as he grabbed the doorknob and went inside.”
“It was just a scene of blood and Pamela lying there,” Horowitz said.
He said he yelled and dropped everything and rushed over to his wife. “Oh no, Pamela, I love you,” he said he screamed.
Neighbor Julie Partridge, who said she lives closest to where the couple were building their dream home in Lafayette, testified Monday that Horowitz’s screams that night echoed in the canyon like the cries of a wounded animal.
During brief cross-examination, public defender Ellen Leonida asked Horowitz if anything was stolen from the home.
Horowitz said that he thought a pair of jeans had been taken, but he wasn’t sure. He also said he did not know that any credit card or bank account information had been taken.
In her opening statement last week, Leonida argued that the plot to steal credit card information had been foiled before the murder and that Dyleski had no motive to kill.
She also asked Horowitz whether anyone else lived on his property. Suspicion in Vitale’s death initially fell on one of Horowitz’s three tenants.
According to attorney and legal commentator Michael Cardoza, Leonida may have been suggesting that somebody other than Dyleski could have killed Vitale, but in his opinion, she did not go far enough in her questioning.
“She showed no emotion,” Cardoza said. “She’s not showing the jury that she believes in her client’s innocence. Prosecutor Hal Jewett is going to steamroll her in this case,” Cardoza said.
Preliminary testimony and police documents indicated Dyleski and a friend had bought marijuana-growing equipment using credit card information stolen from neighbors, including Horowitz and Vitale.
One purchase was to be shipped to Horowitz and Vitale’s address, and Dyleski told his partner he would take care of it.
Leonida has said her client was at home when Vitale was killed and said DNA found inside a glove involved in the attack did not come from her client.
In other testimony Tuesday, criminologist Alex Taflya detailed blood stains found on the door, walls, carpet and ceiling.
Because of the location of the marks, Vitale “was low to the ground when most of the injuries were being inflicted,” Taflya testified.
The day after viewing grisly crime scene photos, jurors were shown items that Taflya said were probably used in the attack: thick pieces of molding, two large flashlights and a shattered vase found near Vitale’s body. Horowitz said the item was given to the couple as a wedding gift.
Horowitz said Vitale was devoted to seeing their dream home completed. The 7,000 square-foot house designed in the style of an Italian villa was about 80 percent finished when she was killed.
“She said, ‘This is our house for the rest of our life, so I have to put the energy into it,”’ he testified.
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