By Seamus McGraw Page 1 of 4

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Contra Costa County, CA (Crime Library) — It was, perhaps, the most single most chilling act in a singularly brutal slaying. As Pamela Vitale, the wife of well-well known legal pundit Daniel Horowitz lay dead or dying on the floor of their mobile home, her accused killer reportedly carved a Goth symbol on her body. Then, before leaving the crime scene, he drank a glass of water, washed his hands and showered.

But as cold-blooded as they might seem, the killer's final actions before fleeing the scene may, in the end, provide his best defense, say attorneys interviewed Thursday by Crimelibrary. In a word, that defense is likely to be insanity.

"I'd say that's the only bet on the table," said Gerald Boyle, the noted Wisconsin defense attorney whose high-profile clients have included serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer and Eagle Scout thrill-killer Gary Hirte.

Boyle made his comments just hours after the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department announced that it had arrested a 16-year-old Lafayette youth on charges of murder in the death of Vitale, whose partially clothed body clad in panties and a T-shirt — was discovered by her husband Saturday night in the double-wide trailer the couple shared while building an elaborate Italianate mansion on their remote 12-acre estate. Jimmy Lee, a spokesman for the sheriff's department, declined to name the suspect, but the San Francisco Chronicle identified him as Scott Dyleski. The teen was arrested late Wednesday, reportedly at a relative's home. He remains in custody at the county's juvenile detention center.

Relatives of Dyleski could not be reached Thursday for comment, and officials at Acalanes High School, which Dyleski attended, declined to comment.

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Seamus McGraw can be reached at seamusm@ptd.net

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