Murder Suspect Given Immunity : Grand Jury Acts to Gain Information in Woman’s Slaying

In a bid to gain more information, the Orange County Grand Jury on Tuesday granted immunity to the prosecutors’ chief suspect in the strangulation slaying of a Brea woman whose body was found in the back of her car last April.

Scott Michael Katzin, an 18-year-old transient who was released after a municipal court judge dismissed murder charges against him, showed up before the grand jury under subpoena. But on advice from his attorney, he refused to testify without immunity.

Immunity was granted immediately. But that doesn’t mean prosecutors won’t continue their pursuit of charges against him. It only means that whatever he said to the grand jury cannot be used to prosecute him.

Assistant Dist. Atty. Ed Freeman has already filed notice that he will ask the Superior Court to overturn the decision by North Municipal Judge Robert Hutson to dismiss the murder charges against Katzin.

Katzin’s attorney, Ronald Kreber, said he was not surprised that Katzin was granted immunity.

“I think the purpose of Tuesday’s grand jury session was not to gather evidence on my client, but to learn more about what he knows,” Kreber said.

Katzin was arrested May 7, a week after the body of Marie Malmgreen, the 38-year-old wife of a Los Angeles police officer, was found in her car April 29. She had been strangled and sexually assaulted.

Mrs. Malmgreen was last seen the morning of April 22, after she had taken her two children to school.

Katzin’s arrrest came after he told police he had been in a park the morning of April 22 and saw one of three men with Mrs. Malmgreen sexually attack her and then beat her.

At his first preliminary hearing, North Municipal Judge Daniel T. Brice dismissed the charges, declaring he thought Katzin was fantasizing when he said he saw Mrs. Malmgreen in the park.

But Freeman immediately refiled the charges before Katzin could be released from the Orange County Jail. Katzin was freed after Judge Hutson, who heard Katzin’s second preliminary hearing, agreed with Brice that there was not enough evidence to order Katzin to stand trial.

Katzin will be cleared if the Superior Court does not overturn Hutson’s ruling. Such reversals are rare in Orange County.

A second man arrested in the case, Michael Scott Pickering, 21, of Brea also testified before the grand jury Tuesday.

Charges were dropped against Pickering before a preliminary hearing was held, and prosecutors now do not believe he was involved.

Pickering did not seek immunity from the grand jury. His attorney, Ronald Brower, said there was no reason to because his client is no longer a suspect.