Jury selection starts in Bechler trial

Deepa Bharath

SANTA ANA -- A year after Eric Bechler’s arrest and more than three

years after his wife’s drowning, the murder trial gained momentum Tuesday

as jury selection began.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys are scheduled to continue choosing a

12-member panel today.

Juror interviews started after Superior Court Judge Frank F. Fasel

ruled that prosecutors could introduce into evidence secretly recorded

conversations between Bechler, 33, of Newport Beach and his ex-girlfriend

Tina New. The tapes, which have been sealed by the court, reportedly

contain discussion by Bechler relating to the details of his wife’s

death.

Prosecutors allege that Bechler murdered his 38-year-old wife, Pegye

Bechler, by knocking her on the head with a dumbbell and dumping her body

overboard during a July 1997 boating trip off of the Newport Beach coast.

He has been accused of killing her to cash in on a multimillion-dollar

life insurance policy.

Bechler has pleaded not guilty, saying that a giant wave swept Pegye

Bechler off the speedboat while she was driving and towing him on a

boogie board. Her body has never been found.

Police arrested Bechler in November 1999, days after Orange County

Sheriff’s investigators wired New with a recording device that she used

while she and Bechler were eating at a restaurant.

John Barnett, Bechler’s attorney, denounced the validity of the tapes,

arguing that authorities interfered with attorney-client privilege

because New asked Bechler specific questions about his legal tactics and

“what his attorney told him.”

Fasel said he was concerned about references to Bechler’s attorney in

the taped conversations but explained that he does not believe the

recordings will keep Bechler from getting fair trial.

The judge also denied a request by the defense to dismiss the case.

The case has been delayed several times during the past year, but the

trial is getting underway with opening statements scheduled to begin when

jury selection is complete. Information about the jury pool was not

available Tuesday evening.

It is difficult to predict exactly when the jury will be seated, said

Tori Richards, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney’s

office. That, however, didn’t stop attorneys from lining up witnesses for

the trial.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Debora Lloyd has said she intends to call at least

12 witnesses -- mostly friends and family members -- to testify about

Bechler’s marriage and how he was as a husband and a father.