Witness: Abrams capable of ‘revenge killings’

Deepa Bharath

SANTA ANA -- In what was one of the longest and most grueling

testimonies to date in the murder trial of Steven Allen Abrams, an expert

witness for the prosecution on Thursday said the defendant “seemed to

function normally” just days before he killed two children in a Costa

Mesa preschool last year.

Martha Roberts, a clinical and forensic psychologist called by Deputy

Dist. Atty. Deborah Lloyd, said Abrams performed routine activities a

week before and even on the day he drove his car into the Southcoast

Early Childhood Learning Center’s playground in May 1999, killing two

children and injuring several others.

“He drove his daughter around, smoked marijuana,” Roberts said. “He

was even trusted by his employer to bring money from the bank.”

Roberts is a key witness for the prosecution in the trial’s second

phase, which will determine Abrams’ sanity. On Aug. 24, a jury found

Abrams guilty of two counts of murder and several counts of attempted

murder. He could face the death penalty if found sane.

Roberts responded Thursday to questions from Public Defender Denise

Gragg, who cross-examined her for almost eight hours over two days.

Gragg flipped through about 900 pages of statements made by Abrams,

asking Roberts to interpret several portions. The defense attorney quoted

Abrams extensively, striving to prove that her client made references to

the “brain wave people,” whom he believed urged him to kill people. She

tried to establish that Abrams was trying to get back at the brain wave

people by killing innocent children.

Roberts said some references Abrams made in his statements were about

the “brain wave people,” but that others were directed to specific

individuals. She also said Abrams’ actions could fall under the category

of “revenge killings.”

“He does seem to have fantasized about killing for a while,” Roberts

said. “And he did say he thought doing it would give him some relief. He

said he was glad he did it right after the incident.”

Gragg argued that although Abrams might have thought about killing, he

was not enjoying the thought of revenge.

Testimony will continue Tuesday.