Opinion ID: 2586480
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The murder of Karen Laborde and defendant's arrest

Text: On February 1, 1993, the day before the murder, defendant, upset and angry, telephoned Conrod at Quintessence to complain he had not been paid for one account. Conrod checked with Laborde on the status of defendant's payment; she told him the check had been taken care of. Conrod then telephoned defendant and told him what Laborde had said. Defendant seemed satisfied with the response. Later that day, defendant telephoned Quintessence and spoke with Eileen Anderson, Laborde's assistant. He was angry and demanded his paycheck. Defendant mistook Anderson for Laborde and threatened to hurt her if he was not paid. Anderson told him, I'm not Kari [Laborde]. I'm not Kari. She placed defendant on hold, and after speaking with Laborde, informed him that there was no check. Defendant became angry and asked to speak with Conrod. Sometime during the same day, defendant spoke with Jeremy about financial problems he faced. He was upset Quintessence had failed to pay him, and told Jeremy that nobody screws [him]. On the day of the crime, after defendant and Jeremy had finished the job at defendant's first account, located in Anaheim, defendant told Jeremy, I quit. With Jeremy in the passenger seat, defendant then drove to Santa Ana, the location of his second account. Defendant, a smoker, had a disposable lighter in his possession that morning. As they waited for about 10 minutes to be let inside the business, defendant told Jeremy, No one screws me like that, and said he wanted to get even. Defendant initially said, I'm not going to kill her. I just want to do it, meaning burn her. Later, he said, I'm going to kill her. Without servicing the account, defendant left and drove to a gasoline station. At 8:26 a.m., he purchased a dollar's worth of gasoline, filling it into a plastic sport bottle. Jeremy asked, What's that for? Defendant did not reply and drove to Quintessence. During the drive, Jeremy asked him, Are you sure you want to do this? Defendant replied he was positive. As defendant drove, he appeared calm and relaxed. By the time defendant and Jeremy arrived at Quintessence, defendant had told Jeremy four times that he was going to light her on fire. When defendant arrived at Quintessence, he gave Jeremy the keys to his truck and told him to get the hell out of [there]. After entering the building, defendant walked up stairs to the reception area, approached Lisa Chaput, the receptionist, and asked to see Laborde. When Chaput told him she was busy, defendant became angry, saying, I want to see her and I want to see her now. Chaput walked to Laborde's office and held the door open a few inches. In the next moment, defendant burst through the door, shoving Chaput out of his way. He headed for Laborde, who was sitting behind her desk, and yanked her seat around so that she was facing him. Defendant splashed Laborde's face, arms, and dress with gasoline from the sport bottle and yelled, This is what you get when you hold my fucking money. Laborde stood up and, wiping her face, asked, Oh God. Why are you doing this to me? Defendant stepped closer to Laborde and answered, This is what you get when you don't give me my money. He then took the sport bottle, poured the remaining gasoline on Laborde's head, and lit her on fire. When Laborde began screaming and struggled to put out the flames that engulfed her, defendant shoved her. Chaput ran downstairs to warn the building occupants about the fire and encountered defendant as he exited the building. He asked her, Do you want to fuck with me next? Defendant asked another woman to light the cigarette in his hand. She refused. Two brothers, who were detailing a car nearby, and another man learned of the fire. They rushed upstairs and put out the fire with two extinguishers. They discovered Laborde burned on the floor and tried to move her, but could not do so. Tustin Police arrived around 8:39 a.m. and found Laborde on the floor of the office, charred and crying. Most of her clothing had been burned off, and her face and hair were charred. Her mouth and nose were excreting fluids, and skin was hanging from her face. Chaput saw defendant walk toward a streetlight near the office parking lot, knock on a car, and reach in to light a cigarette. Defendant returned to the curb outside the office building and sat smoking a cigarette until he was arrested minutes later. In a calm voice, he told the arresting officer, I'm the one you are here to arrest. Defendant was arrested, handcuffed, and placed in a police car. He asked Officer Nasario Solis, an investigator who observed defendant in the police car, how much time he was looking at for attempted murder. When the officer told defendant that he was under arrest for assault, defendant responded, I don't want assault, I want attempted murder. The officer noticed defendant smelled of gasoline, his hair was singed, and there was soot in his nose.