Local News in Brief : Suspect Says Actor Was Murder Target
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Nathan N. Trupp, the former mental patient accused of killing two Universal Studios security guards Dec. 1, told police that he had gone to the studios to look for and kill actor Michael Landon, who he believed was a Nazi, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
“His statements were: ‘I was seeking out Michael Landon, I was attempting to kill Michael Landon . . ., ‘ “ said Deputy Dist. Atty. Sterling E. Norris.
Norris made the comments after he gave Los Angeles Municipal Judge David S. Milton a sealed 50-page police report on interviews with Trupp that the prosecutor said may raise doubts about the suspect’s competency to stand trial. “I think anybody who would read through the reports would have doubts” about Trupp’s competency, the prosecutor said.
Trupp, 42, who is also accused of killing three people at a bagel shop in Albuquerque, N. M., was in Municipal Court for his scheduled arraignment, but the proceeding was put off until Dec. 22. Trupp, who was shot in the chest during his capture after the Universal City shootings, was handcuffed to a wheelchair during the brief hearing.
No competency hearing has been set in the case.
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