Initial Yosemite suspect takes fifth in court: Man who told FBI he and two others killed three women refuses to answer Stayner defense attorney’s questions

SAN JOSE -- Handcuffed and shackled at the waist, Eugene ''Rufus'' Dykes

shuffled into court Wednesday, threw a glare at Cary Stayner and took the

witness stand to face questions about his confession in the Sund-Pelosso

killings.

It was a moment that defense attorneys hoped to use to raise doubts about

the reliability of Stayner's own admissions to the FBI.

Tanned, tattooed and muscular, Dykes, 35, was led into the courtroom by an

armed deputy, who remained on hand with four others.

Stayner, 40, is being tried on capital murder charges in the in February

1999 slayings near Yosemite National Park of Carole Sund, 42, of Eureka, her

daughter Juli, 15, and their friend Silvina Pelosso, 16, of Argentina.

He has pleaded innocent and innocent by reason of insanity.

Two months before Stayner surprised authorities with his confession in the

Sund-Pelosso killings -- along with that of Yosemite park guide Joie Armstrong

-- the FBI was convinced a loosely knit band of ex-con methamphetamine users

in the southern Sierra Nevada foothills was responsible.

With Dykes, his half-brother and others in jail on unrelated charges, FBI

agents said they were confident the Yosemite killers were in custody.

Dykes even confessed, apparently hoping to catch a break on his other

pending cases. He recanted a day later, and authorities now dismiss his

confession. According to court papers, he also failed two lie-detector tests

on whether he had anything to do with the killings.

Stayner defense attorney Michael Burt hoped Dykes would repeat the story he

told the FBI on May 20, 1999: He killed Carole Sund, and his half-brother and

another man killed Silvina and Juli.

But Dykes, a convicted rapist who is currently serving a sentence for false

imprisonment, declined to answer questions.

To each of the three questions Burt asked, Dykes read his Fifth Amendment

right from a card provided by his attorney: ''I refuse to answer on the

grounds it may tend to incriminate me.''

The jury wasn't present during the episode.

Burt later told the judge he wants to show the jury parts of Dykes'

videotaped confession. Because of an objection from the prosecution, Judge

Thomas Hastings will hold a hearing Monday to decide the matter.

Also Wednesday, the defense continued laying the groundwork for Stayner's

insanity defense with Dr. Joseph Wu of the UC Irvine Brain Imaging Center. He

said a brain scan he performed on Stayner showed deficiencies consistent with

schizophrenia and other psychoses. He said there is a link between those

problems and aggression.

The prosecution is expected to try to suggest such scans are unreliable as

to a person's behavior, especially homicidal tendencies.

Stayner already is serving a sentence of life without possibility of

release after pleading guilty to Armstrong's murder in federal court.

You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 521-5205 or

lcarter@pressdemocrat.com.