Opinion ID: 2590211
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Murder of Robert Wyatt Loggins, Jr.

Text: In August 1980, Robert Wyatt Loggins, Jr., 19 years old, was a United States Marine stationed in Tustin. He stood five feet nine inches tall and weighed between 145 and 150 pounds. On the evening of Friday, August 22, 1980, Loggins left the base with three other Marines to go drinking. The four went to a location off Laguna Canyon Road and drank from a bottle of Southern Comfort. Later, after the group stopped at a liquor store near the Huntington Beach pier, Loggins stated he wanted to spend the night on the beach and walked off, rebuffing his companions' attempts to get him to return to their car. The three men subsequently searched for Loggins at Huntington Beach but did not find him. Loggins did not show up for work the following Monday morning. On the morning of September 3, 1980, some young boys living near Paseo Sombra in El Toro found a body, later identified as that of Loggins, in a large green plastic bag in the foothills. A witness walking in the area around 8:00 p.m. on September 1 had seen no bag there at that time. The body was tied in a fetal position with a rope around the ankles and wrists, and with the feet tied near the head. A sheet of clear plastic was wrapped over the body and tied at the neck. The body was nude, and the only article of clothing with the body was a sock near the rectum. The advanced decomposition of the body precluded certainty as to the cause of death; Dr. Peter Yatar, who performed the autopsy, concluded, however, that asphyxia by strangulation or smothering was a possible cause. Postmortem ligature marks were visible on the wrists, neck and ankles, but the pathologist could not determine if antemortem ligature marks were present on the neck. The level of alcohol in the victim's brain was 0.25 percent, while the blood-alcohol level was 0.24 percent, the similarity of those figures suggesting putrefaction did not account for the alcohol levels in the body. Antihistamines (chlorpheniramine and diphenhydramine) were found in various concentrations in the blood and certain organs. The combination of drugs and alcohol could have caused Loggins's death. Loggins had not taken any pills while he was with his fellow Marines on August 22. Photographs of Loggins were found in defendant's car and in a briefcase found in defendant's house. Loggins, who, as noted, was a Marine and was last seen alive in Huntington Beach, had several tattoos. The prosecutor argued to the jury that the entry MC HB TATTOO on the list found in defendant's car referred to Loggins. In defense, Loggins's mother testified Loggins had a drinking problem; a friend of Loggins's testified Loggins used all types of drugs. The defense presented evidence that Loggins's friends had moved his car after his disappearance. A resident of the area testified he had, on September 1, 1980, seen a car occupied by a man and a woman stopped at the dead end of the street near where Loggins's body was found, and had seen the man and woman lift something that appeared to be a plastic trash bag out of the back of the car; when the witness returned to the area the next day, he saw a number of trash bags and smelled the odor of something dead. According to pathologist Robert Bucklin, Loggins was alive when the photographs found in defendant's car and house were taken. A professor of pharmacy testified the reported level of chlorpheniramine in Loggins's system must have been incorrect, as it would have required the victim to ingest 351 tablets and at least a gallon of water to reach such a level.