Gag Order Is Issued in Rader Murder Trial

A judge has issued a permanent gag order in the third trial of an Englishman accused of killing four members of a Northridge family who disappeared eight years ago but whose bodies have never been found.

The order barring attorneys, investigators and witnesses from talking publicly about the case of Harvey Rader, 49, was issued Friday by Superior Court Judge Paul Flynn after defense attorneys alleged that the prosecutor prejudiced potential jurors with comments made recently on a television tabloid show.

Rader, who could be sentenced to death if convicted, is charged with the deaths of Israeli immigrant Sol Salomon, his wife, Elaine, and their two children, allegedly because of a business deal gone sour. Jurors in his first trial deadlocked 11 to 1 in favor of conviction. His second trial ended in a mistrial after the public defender’s office declared a conflict of interest.