Justice for Pamela

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Testimony to begin in trial of 'Goth' teen accused of killing prominent lawyer's wife

By Lisa SweetinghamCourt TV

Opening statements are slated to begin Thursday in the murder trial of a former Boy Scout who is accused of the bludgeoning death of high-tech executive Pamela Vitale, the wife of a prominent California defense attorney.
Prosecutors believe that 17-year-old Scott Dyleski murdered Vitale on Oct. 15, 2005, during a violent struggle at the home she shared with her husband, Daniel Horowitz, in Lafayette, a woodsy neighborhood about 20 miles east of San Francisco.
Investigators say they have compelling evidence linking Dyleski to the murder, including DNA, bloody clothing and a Goth-inspired symbol found in the teen's room, which appears to match the symbol Vitale's killer carved on her body.
Money and drugs are the alleged motives for Vitale's killing.
A teenage friend of Dyleski's testified under immunity during pretrial hearings that he and the defendant concocted a scheme to grow their own marijuana. Dyleski is accused of stealing credit-card information from neighbors and attempting to use their addresses to order the hydroponics equipment online.
Vitale and Dyleksi had never met, but her address was found among the stolen credit card evidence in Dyleski's possession.
A gag order prevents Deputy District Attorney Harold Jewett and Dyleski's attorney, public defender Ellen Leonida, from discussing the case.
Leonida did not present evidence during pretrial hearings, but she has questioned the credibility of the state's DNA evidence and has unsuccessfully argued for a change of venue, noting that the high-profile coverage of the case has made it impossible for Dyleski to receive a fair trial.
Dyleski was arrested Oct. 19 and is being tried as an adult. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges of murder, residential robbery and the special circumstance of murder during a robbery. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if he is convicted.

Web surfing interrupted

Married nearly 11 years, Vitale and Horowitz were living in a modular home on their 12-acre estate in 2005 while Vitale oversaw the construction of their dream house, an Italian-style hilltop villa with a vineyard.
Horowitz told officers that on Oct. 15, he arose at about 6:45 a.m., tended to the couple's two German shepherds, had breakfast with a friend at about 8:10 a.m., and worked at his office before picking up groceries and heading home.
According to computer forensics analysts, Vitale began her day by surfing the Web at 7:49 a.m. She viewed news reports on CNN.com, Courttv.com and Websleuths.com about the murder trial of Susan Polk, a woman who was on trial for the murder of her therapist husband.
Horowitz, and his co-counsel Ivan Golde, had recently taken Polk on as a client. Vitale was actively involved in her husband's practice. Earlier that week, Horowitz delivered opening statements in Polk's trial, which Vitale helped him to write.
Vitale's Web surfing ended at 10:12 a.m., which is when prosecutors believe she was interrupted and attacked by her killer.
Crime scene detectives believe Vitale put up a fight. Blood spatter was found over the walls and doors. There were broken pottery and crushed boxes, and a big-screen TV had been pushed against the entryway to the bedroom during the struggle.
Horowitz reported to detectives that he had tried calling his wife from work several times that day. He was concerned to see her white Mercedes in the driveway when he got home at 6 p.m., because she had plans to see the ballet with a friend.
As he walked toward the mobile home, Horowitz told detectives, he saw blood smears on the front door. The bags of groceries fell from his arms, he dropped to his knees, and he held the body of his wife, who was lying in a fetal position in the entryway.
A neighbor reported hearing Horowitz's car coming up the driveway, and then the sounds of a man crying out, "Oh my God, no, no, no."
Horowitz said he checked his wife's pulse, called 911, checked her pulse again and then called the local police.
He later told officers that he noticed Vitale's 2.5 carat wedding ring was turned with the diamond toward her palm, a custom whenever she was in the company of someone who made her uncomfortable.
The crime scene was rife with evidence. A piece of broken crown molding, one of the alleged weapons, had evidence of blood swipes and hair. The killer appeared to have taken a shower, leaving blood behind on the fixtures, and drank a glass of water before exiting.
Vitale's fight against her attacker, according to a witness present at her autopsy, resulted in 30 lacerations to her face and scalp, dislodged upper front teeth, two broken fingers, and a four-inch stab wound to her abdomen. Her official cause of death was "blunt force injury to the head."
Adding insult to injury, the killer carved an H-shaped symbol onto her back, as if leaving a signature. Detectives would be reminded of the symbol when their search of Dyleski's room turned up a dark connection.

A symbol of 'hate'

Esther Fielding testified during pretrial hearings that her son Scott Dyleski had studied online to receive his GED at age 16 and had been taking history, abnormal psychology and anthropology classes at Diablo Valley College.
Fielding was arrested nine days after her son for allegedly hiding and destroying evidence, including his journal and notes from his backpack, which she threw into a fire. Fielding escaped prosecution when she agreed to cooperate with authorities. She is expected to be a reluctant witness for the prosecution at her son's trial.
Prosecutors allege that Dyleski killed Vitale that Saturday morning, stuffed his raincoat and bloody clothes in a duffel bag, and hid the bag in an abandoned van that was parked on the property where he lived with his mother and three other families.
A member of Dyleski's household testified seeing wounds on the boy's face between 10:30 and 11 a.m. as he walked in the house. He allegedly explained that he scratched his face on a bush during a nature walk.
Crime scene analysts say a mixture of both Vitale and Dyleski's DNA was found on the duffel bag, and on a ski mask and shoes inside the bag. A swab sample from Vitale's right foot came back as a partial match to Dyleski's DNA.
When the 110-pound, 5-foot 6-inch teen was stripped and examined, investigators say he had numerous superficial injuries, including a scratch on his nostril, contusions on his arms and healing abrasions on his lower right leg.
Authorities collected evidence from Dyleski's bedroom, including artwork and poetry, allegedly signed by Dyleski, with the words "murder" and "Live for the kill."
A bumper sticker with the phrase "I'm for separation of church and hate" was noted for the style of the letter H, in "hate," that appeared similar to the symbol on Vitale's back. A CD of the band Velvet Acid Christ with a similar symbol on the CD packaging was also collected.
One of Dyleski's former housemates, David Curiel, testified that he made a discovery some three months after the boy was arrested and his mother had moved out: a sinister note lodged inside the top of a dresser drawer in Dyleski's room.
Scribbled on the paper, according to Curiel, was a list of actions including "knockout/kidnap," "keep captive to confirm PINs" and "cut up and bury."
"I was just aghast at what I was seeing," Curiel said. "It was a list of 'What to Do.'"