Not guilty pleas in torture, murder

<p>A Santa Rosa man charged with torture and murder in his mother's stabbing death in September entered not guilty pleas Wednesday to the potential death-penalty charges.</p><p>Prosecutors haven't said whether they will pursue the death penalty against Christopher Anthony Lavis, 41.</p><p>On Wednesday, Lavis' attorney, Scott Murray, asked for additional time before a preliminary hearing because investigative reports are still coming in from police and prosecutors. Judge Lawrence Antolini set another hearing for Nov. 26 at which further court dates will be set.</p><p>Appearing in court with his wrists shackled to his waist, Lavis pleaded not guilty to murdering his mother, Connie LaSalle, 63, in her Stony Point Road condominium. Prosecutors say he stabbed her with kitchen shears and what was described as a "Roman knife."</p><p>LaSalle's body was found wrapped in blankets on Sept. 27, two weeks after friends and neighbors first began to worry because they couldn't reach her.</p><p>Lavis was arrested in October in San Francisco when police said he tried to walk out of a Fisherman's Wharf restaurant without paying.</p><p>An unemployed computer technician with a minor criminal history involving drugs, Lavis is being held without bail in Sonoma County Jail.</p><p>LaSalle retired three years ago from her job as an operations specialist at Exchange Bank. Her friends said she'd supported her son through years of drug addiction and had recently told him he was no longer welcome in her home.</p><p>-- L.A. Carter</p>