Businessman Charged With Killing His Partner Is Freed

SANTA ANA —  A Fullerton businessman charged with strangling his partner and dumping her body in the desert was freed Friday after a judge ruled that there had been false testimony at the man’s preliminary hearing.

A murder charge against Richard Lawrence Lockridge, 37, of La Crescenta, who had been free on $250,000 bail, was dismissed, but the prosecution may appeal the decision or refile the charge.

Lockridge was charged with killing Kim Martello in the warehouse of ERB Foods in Fullerton, where both worked, in a dispute over ownership of the dessert supply company. Police have also speculated that Lockridge and Martello may have been involved in a real estate dispute.

Martello, 28, of Fountain Valley disappeared July 22. Her body was found three days later near Palm Springs. A former restaurant hostess from San Diego, Martello was involved in a variety of business activities.

Lockridge, the father of two, was arrested three weeks after her disappearance.

Superior Court Judge Everett W. Dickey found that “false evidence (was) presented at the preliminary hearing regarding the Riverside coroner’s opinion as to the victim’s time of death, which may have affected the outcome” of the proceeding.

Lockridge’s attorney, Paul S. Meyer, emphasized that there was no allegation or finding of perjury by the judge regarding the testimony.

Written statements and testimony were submitted by Fullerton Police Officer Richard Herbert Lewis and Riverside County Deputy Coroner William J. Broman Jr. The submissions were regarding a conversation the two men had before the defendant’s preliminary hearing in August about how long Martello had been dead when her body was found.

Lewis testified at the preliminary hearing that Broman estimated that the time of Martello’s death was about three days before the body was found.

Broman insisted that he had never estimated the time of death in his conversation with Lewis.

“The prosecution’s case is entirely circumstantial,” Meyer said, “so time was a critical factor.”

Prosecutors could not be reached for comment.

“We’re very delighted” with the judge’s ruling, Meyer said, but speculated that the case “is far from over. . . . We’re looking forward to a full and open preliminary hearing if the district attorney, in re-evaluating the situation, decides to” refile charges.

At the preliminary hearing, Lockridge’s defense was damaged when his mother admitted on the witness stand that she and her son had fabricated a detailed alibi for the day Martello disappeared.