THE RANDY KRAFT TRIAL: WEEK THREE

Randy Steven Kraft, charged with murdering 16 men, is on trial in Orange County Superior Court in what some legal experts say will be the biggest and costliest case in California history.

LAST WEEK: Defense Attorney James G. Merwin became ill Monday and said he could not proceed with cross-examining a witness. An angry judge threatened to force him to stay on for the day, but relented. On Tuesday, the trial was halted for the rest of the week because of Merwin’s illness.

THE PROSECUTION: ‘We’ve got the sock right here. ‘ Deputy Dist. Atty. Bryan F. Brown,

referring to a critical piece of evidence in Wyatt Loggins’ death which the defense thought had been inadvertently destroyed.

THE DEFENSE: ‘Judge Donald A. McCartin is “driving a wedge between Mr. Merwin and Mr. Kraft.’ ” C. Thomas McDonald, Kraft attorney

NUMBER OF WITNESSES: This Week: 4. To Date: 60.

ITEMS LOGGED AS POSSIBLE EVIDENCE: This week: 31. To Date: 647.

THIS WEEK: Prosecutors continue to present evidence in the deaths of Wyatt W. Loggins Jr. and Donnie Harold Crisel. Loggins’ body was found in 1980, Crisel’s in 1979.