Opinion ID: 2543856
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Ernestine Campbell's murder

Text: At 9:00 a.m. on April 19, 1995, the day of Ernestine Campbell's murder, Bertram Ashe, who lived two houses away from Billy and Ernestine Campbell, was taking a walk in the neighborhood when he heard the front door to the Campbell residence open and close. He watched defendant walk from the Campbells' porch toward the sidewalk. Defendant greeted Ashe and continued toward the house next door, where he lived with his aunt and uncle, Naomi and Herbert Baker, and their daughter Pamela. That morning Ernestine Campbell attended a class at Los Angeles Harbor College from 9:00 a.m. until about 9:50 a.m. Around 10:30 a.m., Robert Lee Vaughn, a family friend, arrived at the Campbell residence to do maintenance work. When Vaughn knocked on the door, he heard Ernestine call out from inside, asking him to return in 30 minutes. Just before 11:00 a.m., Vaughn saw defendant come out of the Bakers' garage and walk to his yellow Ford pickup truck, which was parked on the street. Defendant started his truck and then, leaving the engine running, asked Vaughn for a ride to the gas station, explaining that he did not have enough gas to drive there himself. After a second knock on the Campbells' door went unanswered, Vaughn agreed to drive defendant to the gas station. Vaughn mentioned to defendant that Ernestine Campbell had not answered the door. At defendant's suggestion, Vaughn telephoned the Campbell residence from a phone booth at the gas station; no one answered. Sometime after 11:00 a.m., Jack Shaw, who lived across the street from the Campbells, was in his driveway working on his car, when he heard a scream; he was unsure from where it came and did not respond. Several minutes later, Shaw saw a yellow Ford pickup truck drive past his house; the driver waved as he drove past Shaw. After visiting the gas station, Vaughn returned to the Campbell residence. Vaughn knocked on both the front and side doors, but received no response. A few minutes later, he walked to Billy Campbell's office and told him that the latter's wife had not responded at the house. Billy Campbell telephoned home, but no one answered. Campbell and Vaughn then drove to the Campbell Residence, where Campbell discovered his wife's body tied to the banister of the interior staircase. Campbell called 911, and he told a paramedic, I think my wife has fallen on a knife and killed herself. Vaughn testified that when he entered the hallway he saw Ernestine Campbell's body sitting upright on the staircase with her hands tied to the handrail. After calling 911, Billy Campbell retrieved a small steak knife from the kitchen and cut his wife's body down from the railing. At about 11:40 a.m., Los Angeles County Sheriffs Deputy Robert Stevens arrived at the Campbell home. Stevens searched the home and saw that the screen on the kitchen window had been partially removed. He also found blood on the stairs and on the blade of a kitchen knife that lay near Ernestine Campbell's feet. A severed electrical cord was tied to the banister and a second, smaller knife lay at the top of the stairs. When Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics Brian Dallas Jones and Derrick Ho responded to the scene at 11:42 a.m., Ernestine's body lay on the floor at the bottom of a stairway. In a vain effort to resuscitate her, Jones cut open Ernestine's shirt, revealing stab wounds to her chest and neck. Ho saw a large kitchen knife next to Ernestine's left hand and a second knife lying at the top of the stairs. About 2:05 p.m., Los Angeles County Sheriffs Homicide Detective Byron Wisberger arrived at the Campbell residence. He saw a large butcher knife on the first step of the stairway, a cut electrical cord attached to the stairway handrail, and a second, smaller knife on one of the upper stairs. He also saw a single earring and a bracelet on the stairs. On the kitchen counter was an open purse, its contents scattered about the stove. In an upstairs bedroom, Wisberger found two other purses, their apparent contents strewn about the bed. All the doors were locked, except for a closed but unlocked sliding door leading to the patio. The kitchen window was also closed but unlocked, and its glass was smudged with handprints; the window screen was hanging loosely. Los Angeles County Deputy Medical Examiner Solomon Riley testified that Ernestine Campbell died as a result of multiple stab wounds. Seven of the wounds were to the left side of her chest, penetrating the heart and left lung. To the right side of the neck were two stab wounds one of which was an inch deep and penetrated the thyroid gland. There were abrasions on the bridge of the nose and between the upper lip and nose. There also was bruising under the skin of the right wrist. Blood leaks from the victim's eyes indicated a lack of blood supply to the brain, which could have resulted from suffocation or strangulation.