• Deputy On Stand In Grogan Trial

Deputy On Stand In Grogan Trial

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 19 — A sheriff’s deputy testified yesterday that when Steve “Clem” Grogan was arrested for the murder of cowboy actor Donald “Shorty” Shea the defendant grinned and remarked that nobody had been found.

The Witness, Sgt. Paul J. Whiteley, said the arrest occurred at the Inyo County Jail in Independence, Calif., on Dec. 18, 1970. At the time, Grogan was detained on charges of possession of a sawed-off shotgun.

Whiteley told the jurors and Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph L. Call he had informed Grogan that 43 witnesses had testified against him here before the county grand jury and that some of them had said that he, Grogan, had admitted to them that he had cut off Shea’s head.

“I don’t understand how this could have happened,” Whiteley quoted Grogan saying at the time, “you haven’t found his body.”

Whiteley also recalled that Grogan had denied any assault on Shea and had said that Shea “came and went” while the Charles Manson “family” lived at the Spahn Movie Ranch outside Chatsworth, Calif.

Grogan said, Whiteley testified, that the last time he saw Shea the latter said he intended to go to San Francisco.

“People will say anything,” Whiteley recalled that the grinning Grogan had said, “but you haven’t found his body.”

On cross-examination, Whiteley was confronted with a report he made the same day after delivering Grogan to the county jail here.

This document quoted Grogan as saying “a body,” not “his body,” Whiteley admitted that, the word in the report was more accurate.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Burton S. Katz said he would rest his case today after offering to evidence more than 100 exhibits thus far admitted only “for identification.”

Meanwhile, the trial of Charles “Tex” Watson for the seven Tate-LaBianca murders was progressing much faster than expected.

Examination of Mrs. Linda Kasabian was completed yesterday after a day and a half.

In contrast, she was on the witness stand for 18 days during the trial of Manson and three women followers in the same homicides

This entry was posted in Archived News. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *