Oleander-Poisoning Suspect Enters Plea

A Pasadena undertaker who faces the death penalty in the oleander-poisoning death of a rival mortician pleaded not guilty to murder charges Monday in Ventura County Municipal Court.

David Wayne Sconce, 33, also waived his right to have a preliminary hearing within 10 days, agreeing to a July 23 hearing to allow his attorneys more time to prepare his case.

Sconce has been charged with poisoning Timothy R. Waters, 24, a Burbank mortician, in 1985. The motive was to keep Waters from exposing activities at the Lamb Funeral Home where Sconce worked, Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Harvey Giss said.

Sconce is serving a five-year prison term after pleading guilty last April to 21 criminal counts involving the mingling of human remains, the theft of body parts and the removal of gold teeth from cadavers at the funeral home. It was these activities that Giss said Sconce was trying to keep secret by allegedly poisoning Waters.

Last week, attorney Roger Diamond, who defended Sconce in the earlier case, argued that the court should pay his fees to defend Sconce so that Sconce could have a speedy preliminary hearing. But Municipal Judge Barry B. Klopfer denied the motion and appointed deputy public defenders Susan Olson and David Ammons to the case.

Sconce is “discouraged” about the postponements, Olson said after Monday’s hearing.

“He knows a lot about the case and it’s hard for him to realize why we don’t know as much,” Olson said. “We haven’t had this for two years. But he gave in gracefully.”

Giss told Klopfer on Monday that the preliminary hearing will “easily” take three to four weeks. Prosecutors will be subpoenaing 25 witnesses, including seven from out of state, he said.

Giss would not name the witnesses he expects to subpoena, but said they include “a lot of expert witnesses on the subject of oleander poisoning, two toxicologists and the two star witnesses,” people to whom Sconce allegedly confessed.

At Giss’ request, Klopfer revoked Sconce’s $250,000 bail and ordered him held without bail.