Defense: Alleged murder victim died from epilepsy

Kim Smith

Monday, June 3, 2002 | 8:53 a.m.

A defense attorney for a Henderson man accused of killing his fiancee told jurors Friday the woman most likely died as the result of her epilepsy.

"Not only will you find Stephen Briller not guilty of a crime, but you'll have a reasonable doubt as to whether a crime was even committed," Deputy Public Defender Drew Christensen said.

Prosecutors believe Briller, 41, killed Teri Roberts, 33, after she told his uncle that he was squandering his $150,000 inheritance on gambling, drugs and strip clubs.

Roberts was last seen March 1, 2000, and her badly decomposed body was found in her bed three weeks later. Although an autopsy failed to reveal a cause of death, Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Owens told jurors that several pieces of circumstantial evidence led police to believe she had been murdered.

In the days after Roberts was last seen, Briller had her three dogs euthanized, pawned a large number of her belongings and showed up at his uncle's home in Los Angeles demanding the rest of his inheritance.

Following his arrest 18 months later, Owens told the jury, Briller told a cellmate "I strangled the bitch" and then bragged his prints couldn't be lifted from Roberts' neck because of the decomposition.

Christensen told jurors, however, that six weeks before Roberts died blood tests revealed her phenobarbital level was much lower than normal and it was even lower after her death.

Epilepsy patients maintain certain levels of the drug in their system to prevent seizures, Christensen said.

Doctors will testify of a phenomenon called SUDEP or Sudden Unexpected Death of Epileptic Patients, Christensen said. It is likely Roberts died as a result of the ailment, he said.

Briller has long had a habit of pawning items and nothing should be inferred from his pawning items following Roberts' death, Christensen said.

Many of the state's witnesses have criminal histories and a motive to lie, Christensen said.

District Judge Donald Mosley is presiding over Briller's trial. If convicted of first-degree murder, Briller could receive a no-parole life term. He is also facing robbery and theft charges.