OAKLAND: Torture-chamber slaying suspect angers victim's family in court

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 10/11/6 | Henry K. Lee

[SmithL]

They say he smiled at his arraignment, didn't seem to care --

The family of a San Leandro woman allegedly beaten to death by an Oakland roofer reacted in disgust Tuesday after the defendant grinned and appeared to beckon a woman sitting in the gallery during a court appearance.

Earl Stefanson, 41, was in Alameda County Superior Court after being charged with murdering Leslie Lamb, 36, who police said was his girlfriend. Judge Trina Thompson Stanley ordered Stefanson to return to court Oct. 19 to enter a plea.

"He's smiling, and my daughter is sitting in a cemetery," Ann Lamb said outside court as she began crying. "That's what I saw -- I just saw the face of evil. He didn't look too distraught to me."

The victim's brother, Michael Lamb, burst into sobs as he rested his head on his mother's shoulder. "I can't repeat what I want to say," he said.

Investigators say that on the night of Aug. 26, Stefanson delivered a badly beaten Lamb to Highland Hospital in Oakland, where she later died. He was arrested Oct. 3 after leading officers on a car chase through Oakland and Hayward, police said.

When police served a search warrant at his home on the 3400 block of Coolidge Avenue, they found a revolver and a basement chamber that homicide Sgt. Tony Jones said was reminiscent of "The Silence of the Lambs," the 1991 movie in which a psychopathic serial killer imprisons and skins his victims. Police and prosecutors have refused to provide details supporting the description.

Blood from Lamb and two other people was found on a wall of the home, authorities said. Police have not been able to identify who the two other people might be.

[claptrap]

The perp should be drawn and quartered forthwith.

[BenLurkin]

This undated photo provided by the Oakland Police Department shows Earl Stefanson. Stefanson is suspected of beating his ex-girlfriend, 36-year-old Leslie Lamb, to death in August, 2006. Authorities got a search warrant and found Lamb's blood in Stefanson's house, said Oakland Police Sgt. Tony Jones. They also found blood from two other, unidentified, women. Jones said officers found a grim scene in the basement of the house. He would not give any details other than to say, 'what it reminded us of is, it was like `Silence of the Lambs,'' referring to the 1991 movie about a serial killer who kept female victims trapped in his basement. (AP Photo/Oakland Police Department via the Oakland Tribune) AP - Oct 05 5:17 PM