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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...

Woman tells of living in fear with son of ex-leader of Oakland Hells Angels until meth charge sent her and husband to prison - A former wife of an Oakland roofer accused of beating a woman to death said Thursday that she had lived in fear of her husband and endured "major abuse'' during their relationship a decade ago. She said the abuse stopped only after she and her husband, Earl Stefanson, were arrested for running a methamphetamine lab in Butte County. "I was forced to be there. I was afraid to leave,'' said the woman, who has since remarried...

Police: Oaklander arrested in chase after blood of fatally beaten woman found in home -- OAKLAND — By all appearances, it was an ordinary looking house. But police said Wednesday that its resident, roofer Earl Stefanson, 41, turned the basement into a torture chamber reminiscent of the movie thriller "Silence of the Lambs," where he killed at least one woman and beat others. In announcing Stefanson's arrest, homicide Sgt. Tony Jones said when he combed the dark and dank basement of the house on the 3400 block of Coolidge Avenue with four other officers, "it was frightening even to us."...

OAKLAND -- Murder charges were filed today against Earl Stefanson, the Oakland man who was arrested this week on suspicion of torturing and murdering his girlfriend. Alameda County Assistant District Attorney Tom Rogers filed the murder charges against Stefanson in connection with the death of Leslie Lamb, 36, of San Leandro. Stefanson also is charged with being an ex-felon in possession of a gun in connection with a revolver police found at his home. Stefanson has a felony drug conviction in Yolo County from 1995. Neighbors said today that the Oakland man had a long history of angry confrontations with...

OAKLAND — Murder charges were filed Thursday against an Oakland man suspected of turning his basement into a torture chamber reminiscent of the movie "Silence of the Lambs" and brutally killing his girlfriend there. The Alameda County District Attorney's Office charged Earl Stefanson, 41, with murder and possession of a firearm by an ex-felon in connection with the murder of 36-year-old Leslie Lamb of San Leandro. Stefanson was convicted of manufacturing drugs a decade ago and served prison time, police said. Stefanson, a roofer, was arrested Tuesday night after a chase through Oakland and Hayward. He remains jailed without bail...