Posted on 10/25/2005 5:07:02 AM PDT by smartin
The killer of Pamela Vitale, the wife of prominent defense attorney Daniel Horowitz, not only bludgeoned her to death but left her with a 4-inch-deep stab wound to the stomach and multiple leg wounds, and wore gloves during the attack, investigators wrote in documents released Monday.
When Horowitz arrived at his Lafayette home on Oct. 15, he found his wife, 52, lying in a pool of blood on the living room floor of the couple's mobile home. He called the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office at 5:53 p.m. and screamed to a dispatcher, "Help me, she's dead," according to a search warrant affidavit written by sheriff's Detective Jason Barnes.
The county's crime laboratory later found and examined a "large-sized blood shoeprint" on the lid of a storage container that had been collected from the crime scene on a hilltop where the couple was building a dream home, the affidavit stated.
On Wednesday, investigators arrested 16-year-old Scott Dyleski, who lives down the street from Vitale, and a source close to the investigation told The Chronicle that he allegedly went to her home to retrieve marijuana-growing equipment purchased with stolen credit card numbers.
Dyleski was charged Friday with one count of murder in adult court and is scheduled to return to court Thursday, when he may enter a plea. He is being held at the county's juvenile hall in lieu of $1 million bail. His attorney, Thomas McKenna, did not return a call Monday.
The affidavit also details a significant lead that came to investigators two days after the killing.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Why was the perp's marijuana growing equipment at the Horowitz house?
More than one suspect?
Hmmmm....if I remember correctly, the alleged perp was described as not being a large person. Could this mean there was an accomplice, or the kid wore Frankenstein shoes to go along with his Goth costumes?
The plot thickens.
Leni
If you read the article you would see that the ordered items were never delivered because the company suspected fraud.
It appreas that the equipment was not at the house, but Dyleski couldn't have known that, I suppose.
He's just a child poor thing and he has to face an adult court. His whole life ahead of him and he may have to face a death sentence because someone got in his way. Isnt there any way they could try him as a juvenile so he could be turned loose in a couple of years? After all he is just a future farmer.
S/
He had it sent there. I guess thinking he could just go there and find it on the property with all the other things that were delivered there.
Maybe.
Correct.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/21/MNG3OFC26Q1.DTL
Sources said that when deputies arrested the teenager, who stands 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 110 pounds, he had scratches on his face and legs consistent with a violent struggle.
Here is a scenario, the perp bought the lights and irrigation stuff for an indoor marijuana operation. He did not want it sent to his house, cause his guardians would find out. Lord knows where he would set the thing up.
Ms Vitale confronted him as to what he was doing there. A fight ensued when she threatened to call the police. He killed her.
His goth- satanic connection comes through in the fact that he struck her 39 times. That is a special number to them I believe and he carved some sort of "gothic" signature in her back.
This guy is a lone whacko, and hopefully the state tried him as an adult and he get's the death penalty.
That's a good possibility.
He faces 25 years to life in prison with one extra year for special circumstances (using a bludgeon).
The stuff was never sent to the home. But he might not have known that. The company suspected fraud and never sent it.
You don't need to be a big person to have big feet.
No reason to assume that it was. . .this is the word of a sixteen-year old psychotic/sociopath giving his reason for going to the house.
Interesting that he wore gloves. . .
Are gloves part of the Goth costume? It seems if he was trying to get into the house without leaving fingerprints it is strange that he would take a shower and drink a glass of water. (Not that this whole episode isn't strange).
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20051024-1649-ca-attorneyswifeslain.html
Search warrant paperwork shows new details in Lafayette murder
By Kim Curtis
ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 24, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO – Pamela Vitale, wife of prominent defense attorney Daniel Horowitz, suffered a four-inch deep stab wound in her abdomen and was found by police lying in a pool of blood in her living room, according to documents released Monday.
Horowitz called police at 5:53 p.m. on Oct. 15 and screamed, "Help me, she's dead," according to an affidavit filed by a Contra Costa County sheriff's deputy in support of a search warrant.
Deputies searched the home of Scott Dyleski, 16, on Oct. 19. Dyleski was charged as an adult with murder last week in connection with Vitale's death. Investigators seized two laptops, a computer central processing unit, bedding, knives and a duffel bag from Dyleski's house, just down the hill from Horowitz and Vitale's estate.
It was another neighbor who earlier reported to Lafayette police that his credit card had been stolen and used to buy hydroponic growing equipment – often used to cultivate marijuana – scheduled for shipping to Horowitz and Vitale's address, according to the affidavit. The supplier withheld the shipment, believing the purchase was fraudulent. The neighbor, Doug Schneider, contacted police because he believed the purchase may have been related to Vitale's murder, according to the affidavit, parts of which were sealed.
Authorities believe Dyleski went to the home looking for the growing equipment and got in a fight with Vitale, an investigative source who requested anonymity told the San Francisco Chronicle last week.
Investigators said Vitale had a "traumatic head injury, multiple wounds on her legs, and was lying in a pool of blood." They also found a bloody shoeprint on the lid of a storage container at the crime scene, according to the affidavit.
Thanks. . .Good fill. . .and I hope the ending works as well.
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