BDSM MEDIA NEWS!!!!
December 03, 2012
Novato killer who drowned prostitute denied parole for three years
Source: Marinij.com. - Marinij.com - USA
USA - A former bank executive who drowned a prostitute at his Novato home in 1985 will remain in prison at least three more years, authorities said Thursday.
Leslie Arthur Byrd, 67, lost his latest bid for release Wednesday at the Richard Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.
Byrd, a former vice president of Westamerica Bank in San Rafael, was convicted of second-degree murder for the death of Cynthia Engstrom, a 19-year-old prostitute he hired for a $500 bondage-sex session. Byrd brought her home while his wife and daughters were away and drowned her in a bathtub.
After the murder, Byrd dumped Engstrom's naked body near the driveway of a West Marin doctor he was angry with over a loan deal. Byrd has claimed that he killed Engstrom accidentally by pushing her underwater in a panicked effort to silence her screams.
Byrd was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison in 1986. He has been denied parole numerous times, most recently in 2009.
Marin authorities vigorously opposed his parole this time, saying he continues to be a misogynistic sociopath. District Attorney Ed Berberian and Sheriff Robert Doyle both submitted letters in opposition, as did Beverly Savitt, the retired judge who sentenced Byrd.
Byrd's parole lawyer, Brandie Devall of Long Beach, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
