Shane Murder Trial Enters Second Week

After a break for the weekend, the first trial in many years for an alleged Malibu murder will continue today at the Airport Courthouse in Los Angeles. The eight men and four women of the jury as well as two alternates (a third alternate was excused Friday so she could return to work) heard four days of testimony last week from various prosecution witnesses, including emergency responders at the scene of Malibu eighth-grader  death nearly two years ago on Pacific Coast Highway near Heathercliff Road.

Sina Khankhanian, 28, is charged with second-degree murder. His vehicle struck and killed Emily as she stood on the PCH shoulder on the evening of April 3, 2010, which was a Saturday of Easter weekend. She was walking to the  in  to meet her father.

If convicted, Khankhanian would be sentenced to prison for 15 years to life. The prosecution says the crash was a suicide attempt by Khankhanian. His attorney says the incident was an accident.

Several witnesses testified to Khankhanian's "erratic" driving down Topanga Canyon Boulevard to PCH and westbound on the highway to the scene of the crash. The jury heard a 911 call from one of the witnesses.

Rochelle Huppin, a Los Angeles chef, said that she saw Khankhanian's blue Mitsubishi Lancer veer off the highway and go up "unimaginably high" into the air. The vehicle crashed into a utility poll and "snapped it like a toothpick," Huppin said. Emily was also lifted into the air on impact, and later found 30 feet up a hill.

Jurors watched a video-taped testimony of Malibu resident and film producer Patrick Crowley (he is out of the country), who was in a car with his wife as they pulled out of nearby  and saw the crash. He answered questions in exhaustive detail about Khankhanian's vehicle, which Crowley said was traveling much faster than the other cars on the road, and of he and his wife being the first to see Emily near death atop the hill after the crash.

A paramedic who responded to the scene said Emily was face down and unresponsive. She had suffered "a lot of trauma" and her body was doing "agonal breathing," which he said was a type of faint respiration that is unable to sustain life. The girl was placed in an ambulance, which traveled to the nearby helipad at . But the helicopter was turned away after the 13-year-old was declared dead. Her father Michel was standing outside the ambulance, and was told the tragic news.

A medical examiner testified that Emily's death was caused by "blunt injuries." Photos of her body were shown on a large projector screen. Her parents and grandmother, who have been in attendance throughout the trial, left the courtroom prior to the display of the photos. They could be seen crying later when testimony was given about Emily's brutal condition prior to her death.

Emergency responders testified that Khankhanian, who was not injured, was "uncooperative" and "belligerent" at the crime scene. Some of them used the word "combative," but when pressed by defense attorney Bradley Brunon, they said he did not commit any acts of aggression, but was resistant to questions and used extensive profanity.

"He was using the f-word and was rather flippant in nature," Fire Capt. Todd Christie said.

The captain said when Khankhanian was told of Emily's death, he responded, "Good, she deserved to die. You all deserve to die."

Khankhanian told the emergency responders he had drunk wine and swallowed the prescription medications Klonopin and Ativan, which were from his fiancée Mardi Martinez, . Blood tests later determined he was not intoxicated at the time of the crash. Khankhanian also said that he had wanted to drive off a cliff, a witness said. No cliff is in the area. In addition, he said, "I meant to do it." It was not clear what "it" meant. Khankhanian made various other statements, witnesses said. Many of them were inconsistent.

The jury got to hear the words of Khankhanian first-hand when a recording was played that was made by a sheriff's deputy during the defendant's ambulance ride to , where he was given a medical check prior to being booked at .

"Just this one [expletive] person died," Khankhanian could be heard saying in the recording. "Who gives a [expletive] about that? Lots of people are [expletive] dying. You guys are dying on your job, every single [expletive] day."

Brunon has said his client's behavior was a sign of his mental disorders, which he says include autism, Tourette Syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder. He has also said that Khankhanian's mental condition prevented him from appreciating the danger his erratic driving created. in October is expected to elaborate on these theories during the trial. The prosecution also has a psychiatrist who is expected to challenge the defense's mental health arguments.

Daniel Laubscher, an officer with the California Highway Patrol and a former professional mechanic, inspected Khankhanian's vehicle after the crash. He testified that there was no mechanical feature that would have caused the vehicle to veer off the road. During extensive cross-examination by Brunon, he spoke about the damage found to the steering and other parts of the car. Laubscher said it was possible the damage could have been caused by impacts prior to the crash that killed Emily.

During her redirect, prosecutor Marna Miller asked, as she had in her initial questioning, whether there were any functional problems with the vehicle. Laubscher responded, "No, his car was in excellent condition." 

Michel Shane testified that his daughter was walking along PCH that day as part of a regular routine to reach the Pavilions, where she would meet him. Miller also attempted to ask him questions about the minutes leading up to his learning of Emily's death, but Judge Katherine Mader prevented him from answering after hearing objections from Brunon. Go  for the story on Shane's testimony.

Today's trial session will begin at 10:30 a.m. in Department D on the eighth floor of the courtroom. It will continue until 12 p.m. and resume from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. after a lunch break. The trial is open to the public.