Posted on 10/16/2005 12:27:26 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
LAFAYETTE, Calif. - The wife of a prominent Bay Area attorney was found dead in the couple's home Saturday, police said.
Daniel Horowitz called 911 shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday to report that the body of his wife, Pamela Vitale, was found in the entryway of their home, located in an upscale Contra Costa County neighborhood.
The 52-year-old woman's identity has not been confirmed, but "based on what we know, it's believed to be the wife of Daniel Horowitz," said Contra Costa Sheriff's spokesman Jimmy Lee.
Authorities would not release details of how the victim died, but said it was a "definite homicide." They added that they do not have any suspects or a motive.
"We're still in the early stages. We're talking to several individuals. Nobody's in custody right now," Lee said.
A call to the Horowitz home was not answered late Saturday.
Daniel Horowitz is a regular television legal commentator, appearing on CNN, MSNBC's The Abrams Report and Fox News, and was a frequent commentator during the Laci Peterson trial.
Horowitz is the defense attorney for Susan Polk, who is accused of murder in the 2002 stabbing death of her husband in the poolhouse of their Orinda home. The trial, which has drawn national attention, had been scheduled to continue next week.
Vitale, a former high-tech marketing executive, worked at her husband's law practice, creating and managing databases.
Amphed up, I guess.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-shap14.html
This one is calling it "accidental."
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-shap14.html
The FR article said they found Ecstacy and Meth amphetamines in his body. Probably deliberate ingestion, accidental death.
He was the same age as Ron Goldman. So sad. :-(
Pinz
Yes, it's sad. I went to that thread on FR and a link to the boy's blog. Seemed like a typical young man... brazen and cocky. Stupid, stupid, stupid, to ingest drugs.
Court TV forum. Someone posted it earlier in the evening, but I don't know the source. Oh, wait, here it is. It was 7:30PM my time (CDT), because I time-stamped it.
It came from ABC 7, which must be a Bay Area station?
Also, the attorney I mentioned who is a friend of Horowitz's who spoke to the media today is named Bob Massi, and he wasn't with DH during that period of time (12P-3P).
He had a breakfast meeting with him on a Las Vegas case (Massi practices in NV), then DH went to see his Polk co-counsel Ivan Gold after that. Then Massi talked to DH at around 8PM last night. They grew up together in Maspeth, NY, he said.
I went to Brent's site also. Sounds to me like he and his friends were pretty much lost souls!! Not a one of them thinks of anything but partying. And a drug concoction like that is known by just about EVERYBODY to be dangerous. Sad.
Do Court TV and WEbsleiths both have forums up on this already?
Pinz
Yes your right Massi did say that. However he remarked that Daniel's whereabouts can be accounted for every minute of that day. Did you hear him say that? What I'm thinking is that he came home and found her in the entry way. It certainly appears that she must have opened the door to somebody who then did her in. I guess we'll know more when the autopsy results are released.
I really must go back to websleuths tomorrow. I just got a new computer and so I have to look up my sign in number which I wrote down and put in my wallet. I'm sure that websleuths will have forums up on both Horowitz and the Shapiro kid. I know they have a Natalee Holloway thread.
I'm gonna sign off for tonight Freepers. Sweet Dreams. CO
I haven't checked WebSleuths, but they did have a thread started last night, on ... hmmm... maybe "Crimes in the News"?
CourtTV had it in Open Court until a few hours ago and they put it in "Current Crimes and Cold Cases" now - while I was reading it, natch--so it came up a dead-end for a while. Hate when they do that.
Found it: http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?s=8cb77e9f2f0679e9a883ca3fee77c55e&t=30850&page=1&pp=25
Pinz
(need to go dig out my cookie to sign on)
Oh, now you're gone. Well, I didn't see it, I was paraphrasing a Court TV forum post. And yes, the poster did say there were other meetings scheduled throughout the day, according to Massi.
About the entryway--I'm having a hard time picturing what that would look like in a mobile home. It sounds like an "area," rather than just the doorway, you know? I wonder if it happened in the unfinished "real" house.
Plus, the fact that their driveway is a mile long sure makes it seem like Ms Vitale would've noticed a stranger following her home.
Link to a bio article on Horowitz from 2003: http://home.earthlink.net/~bdega/Horowitz%20Daily%20Journal.htm
My kids are finally home, off to bed for me.
Pinz
Here's a story that Court TV put up in the midst of its Polk trial coverage:
http://www.courttv.com/trials/polk/101405_ctv.html
It mentions "head trauma" for Ms Vitale, the first detail we've seen.
Also, the CTV thread was chopped down from 50+ pages to 34 pages while I wasn't looking--and it reminded me to be sure to say that Daniel Horowitz posted at the Court TV forum towards the end of the Scott Peterson trial.
I didn't see his posts and probably wouldn't have read them, but because of that, I also don't know what screen name he used. We can assume that's why all the really bad speculation was deleted from the thread--*AS IF* he'd be reading there any time soon.
What's this about Shapiros kid? I missed that!
Defense lawyers have to "defend", I suppose it's a dirty job but someone has to do it, luckily sometimes the defendant is truly innocent, so we still need def. lawyers around!!
Read an article I found in search, last nite, mentioned several marriages prior, so I would say, no to gay!
Do you remember where you found that Horowitz was married several times before?
No, it's in Burton Valley off St. Mary's Road.
Daniel Horowitz is a defense attorney with an extensive computer and business background. He was one of the first attorneys to bring a computer into the courtroom. Horowitz is a licensed real estate broker and has been counsel for a major investment firm in New York City.
Horowitz has never been a prosecutor. His entire 24 year career has been dedicated to fighting for the rights of those crushed and abused by the system.
Horowitz has been a law school professor and is a frequent lecturer at continuing education seminars for attorneys. He is a published author on numerous criminal defense topics. Horowitz is a leader and lecturer in technology and document management. These are essential skills for a white collar criminal case.
His exposure of the corrupt Oakland Housing Authority police department is legendary and was the subject of a "60 Minutes" episode titled "Bad Cops".
******
October 22, 2004
Horowitz keeps law firm small, cases big
Veteran Oakland criminal defense attorney Daniel Horowitz has made a name for himself doing death penalty work. In 14 death penalty cases, he has gotten two dismissals and reductions to life verdicts for the rest.
"To an ordinary person my line of work could be emotionally crippling, but for me it is like putting electricity into an appliance. These cases get my juices going," says the 49-year-old Horowitz, who runs a solo practice and accepts only a handful of cases each year.
By resisting the temptation to expand his firm, Horowitz has been able to restrict his caseload.
"I love handling complicated cases that involve 200,000 pages of documents and hundreds of witnesses," Horowitz says. "My one criteria for accepting a case is that it has to engage all my mental faculty and energy."
Horowitz is regularly seen on television these days commenting on the Scott Peterson trial and other high-profile cases.
His most recent court victory involved representing San Francisco Giants' fan Steve Williams for free, helping to persuade a judge to allow Williams to sell Barry Bond's 700th home run ball as soon as possible.
Business philosophy
The basics: "Be fiercely competitive, take care of your partners, always, always keep your word."
Best way to keep competitive edge: "Push your limits in every arena, on the job, physically and intellectually."
Guiding principle: "Look for the win-win. As a CEO friend of mine once said: 'Friends come and go but enemies accumulate.' "
Self-portrait
First job: "My first full time job was as a stockboy at Cal Hi-Fi, Berkeley. After a month they promoted me to a sales position which was very exciting for me."
Words that best describes you: "Aggressive, competitive but with heart."
Like best about job: "Every day demands 100 percent of my skill and commitment. There is never a moment that I can relax or let down."
Like least about job: "The human cost. My world is one of extremes. It is great to win but you cannot help but realize that the losers also have feelings, families, hopes and dreams which your victory may have helped shatter."
Pet peeve: "Promises made but not kept."
Most important lesson learned: "Friendship is wonderful and family is most important."
Person most interested in meeting: "Vladimir Putin. I represented Pavel Lazarenko, former prime minister of Ukraine and I learned a lot about politics and business in Russia, Ukraine and the CIS countries. There are a lot of questions that I have for Mr. Putin."
Most respected competitor: "James Anderson. The most aggressive and successful prosecutor in the state of California. No one ever hit harder than Andy but he combined this with complete integrity. When James Anderson retired Oct. 7, he was honored with awards signed by President Bush and Gov. Schwarzenegger.
Three greatest passions: "My wife and I have started a vineyard in Lafayette. Caring for the vines and building the infrastructure occupies much of my free time. I love mountain biking in our wonderful regional parks. And my greatest passion is for spending time with my wonderful wife, Pamela, and our two children, Marisa (age 26) and Mario (age 30)."
Judgment calls
Best business decision: "Buying acres of raw land in Lamorinda."
Toughest business decision: "Keeping my law office a 'boutique' and resisting the option of growing very large but diluting quality."
Biggest missed opportunity: "Not shorting the dot-com stocks before the bubble burst. Greenspan was speaking but I was not listening."
Acquired tastes
Status symbol: "Fine California Cabernet."
Favorite movie: "The In-Laws (original version with Peter Falk and Alan Arkin)."
Favorite book: " 'Attorney for the Damned,' which is a collection of closing arguments by the great Clarence Darrow. In those days, law was true theater and Darrow's closing arguments send chills down my spine."
Favorite restaurant: "Elliston Vineyards in Sunol has a wonderful multicourse dinner. We got married there and it brings back wonderful memories."
Favorite vacation spot: "South Seas Resort in Capitiva, Fla."
Set of wheels: "I love convertibles, all of them."
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