Judge to rule whether torture charge should be part of murder trial

A Sonoma County judge is scheduled to rule this afternoon on whether a Santa Rosa man accused of murdering his mother should also be held over on torture charges.

Judge Lawrence Antolini has already ruled that there is enough evidence to proceed with first-degree murder charges against Christopher Lavis, 42, in the September stabbing of his mother Connie LaSalle, 63.

But torture charges carry a life-without-parole term or a potential death sentence upon conviction. Prosecutors haven’t said if they will pursue capital punishment.

Attorneys will argue their sides at a hearing Tuesday afternoon, after which Antolini is expected to determine if there is enough evidence to go forward on the charge.

During a preliminary hearing three weeks ago, a pathologist testified that LaSalle had 45 stabbing and slicing wounds, 15 to 20 of which were potentially fatal. Seven of 13 wounds to her upper back penetrated into her heart and lungs and could have killed her.

Lavis told a police detective in a recorded interview that the two argued and he stabbed his mother several times with a pair of kitchen shears before grabbing a large knife, a Roman gladius, because he “didn’t want her to suffer.”

He then left her body in the condo’s living room and covered her with a blanket. Over the next 10 days, he said, he stayed in the condo and had pizza delivered three times, as his mother’s corpse decomposed.

LaSalle’s body was found on Sept. 27, about two weeks after friends last saw her.

A torture allegation requires the infliction of extreme pain for revenge, persuasion or another sadistic reason, Lavis’ attorney said.

Lavis said he’d become homeless and had nowhere else to go besides the condo he co-owned with his mother. After one night there, his mother told him to get out and the pair fought.

LaSalle was a retired operations specialist at Exchange Bank.

Her son, an unemployed computer technician, has a history of drug addiction and minor convictions. He is being held without bail.