Killer confessed, sheriff's deputy tells jury

By: JOHN HALL - Staff Writer | Wednesday, March 15, 2006 2:55 PM PST ∞

FRENCH VALLEY ---- When accused murderer Dustin Waid Stanford was booked into jail in August 2004, he was angry and blurted out a confession, a Riverside County sheriff's deputy told jurors Tuesday.

Stanford, 25, is charged with the murder of his girlfriend, 21-year-old Amber Frink, who was found brutally stabbed to death in his parents' Murrieta home. Authorities have said she was stabbed two dozen times.

Stanford's trial entered its second day Tuesday, which concluded with the testimony of Deputy Cynthia Chaisson. She was working at Southwest Detention Center the night of Aug. 13, 2004, when Murrieta police booked Stanford.

She described Stanford as angry and that he had "not wanted to obey" the commands of jail deputies as he was being booked.

"We would call him a combative inmate," Chaisson told jurors.

Stanford was placed in a "safety cell" for the protection of deputies, himself and other inmates, she said. As she was booking someone else outside Stanford's cell, Chaisson said she heard Stanford yell something she immediately wrote down.

"He said, 'I'm sorry. I killed the f - - - - - - girl. OK, I did it,'" Chaisson testified.

Deputy District Attorney Stephen Gallon asked the deputy about Stanford's tone of voice.

"Extremely sarcastic, not apologetic," Chaisson answered. "Like, I did it, big deal."

During his opening statement Monday, Stanford's attorney, Jeff Zimel, conceded his client killed Frink.

The eight-man, four-woman jury in the courtroom of Judge F. Paul Dickerson at Southwest Justice Center must decide whether the crime was first-degree murder, as prosecutors have charged, or manslaughter, which is what Zimel has asked for.

Zimel said he will show that Stanford's long-time use of methamphetamine and mental illness resulted in him killing Frink.

The defense could begin presenting its case to the jury as early as this afternoon.

Jurors heard testimony Tuesday from three Murrieta police officers who went inside the home minutes after Stanford called 911 at 1:14 pm., saying he thought he had murdered someone.

Sgt. Jim Ganley told jurors he and other officers went in through the open front door of the home on Del Val Drive and found Stanford sitting calmly on a wooden chair, smoking a cigarette.

He was ordered to show his hands and lay down on the floor, which he did after putting the cigarette out on the carpet, Ganley said.

Officer Jay Froboese described how he went upstairs to search the bedrooms for victims or other possible suspects. He looked into one bedroom and saw a woman laying face down on the floor with her head near the door.

Froboese said he stepped over the body, checked a closet and under the bed, then holstered his weapon. He checked the woman's pulse at her neck and pronounced her dead at 1:25 p.m., the officer said.

Jurors also got a videotaped tour of the Stanford home narrated by Detective Matt Haddad, the lead investigator of the homicide. The video was made after police received a warrant to search the house and before they collected any evidence from inside, he said.

A sheath for what Haddad said was a bayonet was found on a downstairs kitchen counter. A bayonet with about a 10-inch blade was found stuck into Frink's back when her body was discovered. Bloody carpet in the upstairs hallway could be seen in the video, with a steam cleaner still sitting on top of some of the blood, Haddad said.

In an upstairs bathroom, police found an open bottle of Clorox bleach and there were areas of the hallway carpet that appeared to have been scrubbed in an attempt to clean up a stain.

The video camera panned to the bedroom where Frink's body was found. She was wearing only a shirt with her arms extended above her head with her fists clenched. The bayonet could be seen in her back. Another knife was left between her legs. Authorities say that weapon had about a 4 1/2- to 5-inch blade.

There was a strip of yellow crime-scene tape across the bedroom door, which Haddad said he believed was where Dustin Stanford stayed. The detective told jurors that police had not placed the tape there.

"I guess it was for decoration," Haddad said.

Gallon, the prosecutor, showed the jury photographs of Stanford, which Haddad testified were taken after he was arrested. That led some jurors to look first at the screen with photos, then back at Stanford, who looked much different in the courtroom.

In the photos after his arrest, Stanford has a shaved head, a goatee, a large tattoo on his arm and appears thin. Now, he has grown out his hair and put on noticeable weight, and appears cleanshaven and wearing a suit in court.

According to jail records, Stanford is being held in lieu of $505,000 bail at Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside. Testimony at his trial is expected to resume this morning.

Contact staff writer John Hall at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or jhall@californian.com.