8-Year-Old Girl’s Killer Drops Insanity Plea

VAN NUYS —  Hooman Ashkan Panah, convicted last month of the sodomy-murder of an 8-year-old neighbor, withdrew his insanity plea Tuesday after learning he couldn’t dictate the ground rules of his testimony.

Later, as the legal maneuvering continued in this emotionally charged child murder case, Panah criticized his lawyers and called the victim’s mother a liar. The move prompted Panah’s own lawyer to rally to the woman’s defense.

The courtroom drama began as Panah, a 23-year-old former department store clerk, prepared to take the witness stand in an attempt to show he was insane at the time he killed Nicole Parker. After huddling with his lawyers, Panah asked Superior Court Judge Sandy R. Kreigler if he could limit his testimony to details of his background and family history.

But Kreigler said he couldn’t guarantee Panah that prosecutor Peter S. Berman would not ask him about events pertaining to the murder of the dark-eyed second-grader, whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase in the bedroom closet of Panah’s Woodland Hills apartment.

Panah then declined to take the witness stand. He dropped his insanity defense after Kreigler read reports by mental health experts for the prosecution and defense. The prosecution’s expert found Panah was sane at the time he killed Nicole. The defense expert found “no evidence” that he was insane at the time.

With the issue of Panah’s sanity no longer before them, the jurors soon will decide if the death penalty should be Panah’s punishment, or if he should spend the rest of his life in state prison.

Testimony in the penalty phase of Panah’s trial begins Thursday. Panah is believed to be the first Iranian American to face a possible death penalty.

Panah was convicted last month of first-degree murder with special circumstances and various sex crimes in the Nov. 20, 1993, slaying of Nicole, who was the subject of a massive search.

The seven men and five women on the jury found Panah had killed Nicole while sodomizing her and performing lewd acts with her.

Robert M. Sheahen called his client “clearly, a mentally disordered young man,” who was not cooperative in interviews with court-appointed mental health experts.

Sheahen contends that Panah was sexually abused as a child in Iran, was hospitalized for a mental disorder in 1988, and has attempted suicide at least twice.

On Tuesday, there were signs of dissension on the defense team.

As four deputies stood in a semicircle behind him, Panah complained to Kreigler about his lawyer’s performance.

He told the judge that Sheahen and co-counsel William Chais had failed to dispute prosecution allegations that a skull-shaped ring caused scratches on the child’s body, or to “prove” that the dead child’s mother and a former girlfriend had “lied” about him in their testimony.

“I had not been wearing any ring on my hand or fingers for a long period of time,” Panah protested. “I asked Mr. Sheahen to prove Lori Parker lied on the stand by saying her daughter knew my name. Mr. Sheahen, out of respect or sympathy, did not bring this up in his closing arguments.”

In response, Sheahen told the judge:

“He can assail me 24 hours a day. I don’t want him attacking Mrs. Parker because Mrs. Parker is the last person in these proceedings who should be attacked.”

In the front row of the courtroom, Lori Parker softly wept.