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Sep 7, 2007 5:57 pm US/Pacific
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Oak. Man To Stand Trial For Rape, Murder, Torture
OAKLAND (BCN) ―
An Oakland roofer was ordered Friday to stand trial on charges that he murdered one ex-girlfriend last year and tortured, kidnapped, assaulted and falsely imprisoned two other ex-girlfriends.
At the end of a preliminary hearing that spanned several days during the past month, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Robert McGuiness ruled that prosecutors presented sufficient evidence to justify having 42-year-old Earl Stefanson stand trial on 18 felonies and four misdemeanors.
Before McGuiness ruled, Deputy District Attorney Casey Bates said, "There's overwhelming evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Earl Stefanson is responsible for the death and murder of Leslie Lamb," a 36-year-old woman who died Aug. 26, 2006.
Bates said Lamb's blood was found in Stefanson's house, his sperm was found in her mouth and a pathologist's report concluded that she died of "multiple injuries from her head to her toe."
The prosecutor told the judge, "There was not a single portion of Leslie Lamb's body that was not damaged by this man," pointing at Stefanson, a bulky, bearded man who was dressed in yellow jail clothes at Friday's hearing.
Bates said Lamb suffered injuries on her face, head, lungs and shins.
But Stefanson's lawyer, Ted Berry, said that despite the injuries Lamb suffered, "there's no concrete evidence of malice" on Stefanson's part. To prove murder, prosecutors must show that a defendant demonstrated malice.
Berry said he thinks Lamb may have died from "a substantial and perhaps fatal dose" of methamphetamines.
Bates admitted that Lamb had "a relatively high amount" of methamphetamines in her system when she died but he agrees with the pathologist's conclusion that she died from multiple blunt trauma from the injuries she suffered.
Bates alleged that in separate incidents the year before Lamb died, Stefanson assaulted her with a board and wrapped her in saran wrap.
Bates said Stefanson assaulted another ex-girlfriend by kicking her in the ribs multiple times with steel-toed boots.
The prosecutor said Stefanson put the second woman in a locked trailer in one incident and dropped her down a muddy and debris-filled hole in another incident.
Bates said Stefanson "put her in a terrifying condition for at least one night" and denied her painkillers and antibiotics even though he knew she needed them because she was recovering from major surgery.
As a result, the ex-girlfriend lost her kidney, Bates said.
Bates said Stefanson also assaulted a third ex-girlfriend in 2004 by throwing a gravity knife into her leg, forcibly using electric shears to cut off parts of her hair and punching her in the face on her birthday.
In addition, Bates said Stefanson was an ex-felon in possession of a gun, stating that Stefanson has a 1995 conviction for running a methamphetamine laboratory in Butte County but had a revolver at his home in Oakland.
McGuiness denied bail to Stefanson ordered him to return to court Sept. 21 to be arraigned and have a trial date set.
Bates said Stefanson could be sentenced to life in prison if he's convicted of the charges against him.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)