Sights to see outside the courtroom

Deepa Bharath

SANTA ANA -- The trial of Eric Bechler has as much to offer to

spectators as a sizzling suspense novel -- sex, lust, blood, murder,

money, lies, greed, secret tapes and a dead body that’s never been found.

“It’s better than a TV show,” said Donald Bringgold, an attorney from

Big Canyon who has been in the business for more than 40 years.

The small courtroom on the eleventh floor of the Orange County

Courthouse has been packed with eager spectators for much of the trial,

which began last week.

Of course, there are also those who were and are directly affected by

the trial of Bechler, who is accused of murdering his 38-year-old wife,

Pegye, during an anniversary boating trip off the Newport coast three

years ago.

Members of Pegye Bechler’s family -- her mother, June Marshall, and

her sisters -- have usually occupied the four or five chairs outside the

courtroom. Eric Bechler’s family have made occasional appearances, though

his mother, Linda Bechler -- a regular during the pretrial hearings --

has not been seen as often during the trial.

There have been friends of Eric and Pegye Bechler and counselors who

were consoling and reassuring friends and family of the victim.

There have been members of the media, busily jotting notes as a

complex plot unfolds before them. And there’s been a larger media circus

on the second floor, waiting with cameras and microphones for key

witnesses to step off an elevator on their way to the district attorney’s

office.

Some wait at the foot of the escalators on the first floor to grab a

quick shot of the star witness, Eric Bechler’s ex-girlfriend Tina New, as

she leaves with her husband or when she tries to buy snacks from the

on-site convenience store.

But more than anything else, this case is a lesson in law, said Jin

Chung, an aspiring defense lawyer and a recent law school graduate. Chung

said he has been impressed by defense attorney John Barnett’s handling of

New.

“It’s not just strategy, but the gentle but firm manner in which he

presents himself,” he said. “So here I am. I wanted to learn from the

best.”