Abrams a ‘sweet and kind’ man, family says

Deepa Bharath

SANTA ANA -- Family members on Monday characterized Steven Allen

Abrams as a “sweet and kind” man who loved, helped and protected them.

The six defense witnesses who testified Monday during the trial’s

penalty phase painted a starkly different picture of the man who in

earlier hearings has been portrayed by his attorneys as schizophrenic and

by prosecutors as a deranged drug addict.

Abrams on Aug. 24 was convicted of murdering two young children. This

month, the jury found him to be legally sane in May 1999, when he drove

his Cadillac into a crowded Costa Mesa playground, killing the two

children and injuring several others.

The jury must now determine if Abrams should be sentenced to death or

be sentenced to life in prison.

On Monday, Abrams’ 19-year-old daughter, Stephanie Young, told the

court that her dad taught her to ride a bike, to play chess.

“He also taught me to play the guitar,” she said with a laugh. “But

I’m not very musical. I didn’t catch on.”

Young broke down as she recalled Thanksgiving dinners her father would

cook for her.

“He helped me with my homework,” she said, wiping away tears. “He was

always there for me.”

He tucked her in at bedtime and was there to comfort her when she had

a nightmare, said Young.

Abrams did not react during his family members’ testimonies, although

he fidgeted, stroking his hair and rubbing his face. He asked to leave

the room while his daughter was on the stand.

The atmosphere in the courtroom was also drastically different than it

was Thursday, when parents of the slain children testified for the

prosecution -- moving some of the jurors and those in the audience to

tears in a packed courtroom. On Monday, the gallery was virtually empty.

The defense tried to establish that before the murders, Abrams had

been trying to lead a normal life by taking care of his daughter and

going to work.

Both Young and Abrams’ sister, Janice Abrams, said the defendant had

discussed the conspiracy of the “brain wave people,” whom he believed

wanted to make him a murderer.

Janice Abrams became emotional and cried when she talked about Abrams’

love for their mother, Mary Abrams, who died of breast cancer months

after his arrest.

“He always helped her,” she said. “He would pay her rent, bills, fixed

her car.”

His brother, Joseph Abrams, a federal probation officer, said he would

not have been successful in life if his older brother had not taken care

of him. Steven Abrams was one of six children. He lost his oldest brother

and father in an accident during a family vacation.

“He filled the role of my dad,” said Joseph Abrams. “Steven was the

one I really looked up to and respected.”

Their aunt, Hazel Abrams, who was called to the stand Monday, said

Mary Abrams was neither a good mother nor a good wife. She said the

children had an unhappy childhood after their father’s death.

“The house was a mess,” she said.

When asked by Deputy Dist. Atty. Debora Lloyd if Mary Abrams abused

the children, Hazel Abrams retorted, “Do you have to hit a child to abuse

them?”

Both attorneys will present their closing arguments today.