DNA database identifies man in unsolved murder
By PATRICK KINMARTIN Special to the Daily Press
A convicted felon who is accused of killing a Santa Monica woman in 1998 will not face the death penalty, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.
David Thomas Wright, 48, pleaded innocent last week to one count of first degree murder in the killing of Aviva Labbe. Labbe, 20, was found raped and murdered in a walkway next to an apartment building at 238 Hill Street on June 14, 1998. There were no suspects in her murder, which was classified as a “cold case,” and it remained unsolved for nearly four years.
However, in 2002 a sampling of Wright’s DNA linked him to the murder through the U.S. Department of Justice’s database system. Wright was registered in the system because he is serving a six-year sentence for battery of a Santa Monica police officer during an unrelated incident.
After he was identified as a suspect in Labbe’s murder, a special panel within the DA’s office decided July 8 that Wright will not get the death penalty if found guilty, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the DA’s office.
She wouldn’t specify the criteria for the special panel, but she said that the panel reviews all death penalty cases and isn’t required to provide reasons for its decisions.
Wright will appear in Los Angeles Superior Court on July 30.
Wright’s DNA was found on a rectal swab taken from Labbe’s body, according to forensic expert Brian Wraxall, who testified during Wright’s preliminary hearing in April.
Wright vehemently denied all allegations against him during a videotaped interview with Santa Monica Police Detective John Henry, the detective said while being cross-examined by Wright’s public defender, Paul Golub. “(Wright) told me it’s a shame that someone would go so far just to have sex with someone else,” Henry testified. “He said it was impossible that he was linked physically to the murder.”
Golub asked Wraxall if technology used to link DNA was prone to error. Wraxall said there was a slight possibility of that.
“(Wright) said it was impossible that he was linked physically to the murder.” — — JOHN HENRY Santa Monica Police detective
LA County Medical Examiner Susan Selve testified that Labbe was likely strangled to death because her lungs were damaged and no skull fractures were found.
Labbe’s body was found lying face down with a purse placed on her back. The purse contained, among other objects, a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Whiskey, a pair of high-heeled shoes and a motel key.
The key was to a room at the Santa Monica Motel on Lincoln Boulevard where Labbe was living, according to testimony from Henry.
During his investigation, Henry said he spoke with Labbe’s cousin, Leslie Tutnick, who at the time was Labbe’s only local relative. Tutnick told Henry she was trying to help Labbe get through emotional distress. She also described Labbe as “someone desperately trying to get her act together,” Henry testified.
Rev. Sandie Richards said Wright often hung out in front of her building, The Church at Ocean Park, according to Henry’s testimony. She said that he kept his belongings in a desk in front of the church building, which is across the street from where Labbe’s body was found, Henry said.
Labbe’s body was first spotted June 13, 1994. But because the body appeared to be a sleeping homeless person, he did not sense anything was wrong. It was not until the next day when a passerby noticed Labbe had been unconscious that police were notified.
During the autopsy, LA County supervising criminalist Dan Anderson testified that he found a foreign object inside Labbe’s body. Upon further investigation, Anderson discovered that a beeping pager had been lodged in Labbe’s rectum. It is unknown whether or not the beeper is connected to Wright.
Henry also testified during the cross-examination that Richards depicted Wright as non-violent man who often drank but never gave her any trouble.
Wright’s criminal background, however, indicates otherwise.
In 1990, he pleaded no contest to petty theft and three years later he was convicted of possessing a dagger and given probation.
In 1994, Wright was sentenced to two years in prison for assault with intent. In 1999, Wright was acquitted of possessing a deadly weapon. Last January, a jury found him guilty of battery, resisting arrest and failing to register himself as a sex offender.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 16, 2003. Read the original PDF.