Jurors will hear voice of slain woman

Erica D. Johnson

Wednesday, April 9, 2003 | 8:25 a.m.

Jurors in the trial of a Las Vegas man charged with killing his estranged wife will have the rare opportunity to hear the victim describe the abuse she said she endured at her husband's hands, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

On the first day of testimony in Vitaly Zakouto's murder trial, prosecutors said they intend to play a videotape of Marina Cannon, 49, describing how Zakouto stalked her during the six months leading up to her death in 2000.

The videotape was made when Cannon testified during divorce proceedings in Family Court. Cannon had obtained a restraining order to keep Zakouto, 53, away from her, Chief Deputy District Attorney Ed Kane said.

In the tape, Cannon describes an incident in which Zakouto allegedly held her at knifepoint, threatening to kill her and himself, Kane said.

Zakouto also threatened to burn down Cannon's house with her inside, Kane said.

"Few if any jurors get to hear from the victim," he said. "She testified about this campaign of terror."

Prosecutors also plan to show jurors a surveillance tape taken at the home Cannon shared with her father the night of the murder. They say the tape shows Zakouto climbing into the house through a back window.

But defense attorneys painted a different picture of Cannon, saying she wasn't the frightened woman prosecutors claim.

Cannon obtained a restraining order in April 2000, but Zakouto wasn't served with it until two months later, defense attorney William Terry said.

"Marina Cannon was playing it both ways," he said. "She was very much aware that Mr. Zakouto had not been served."

Terry said Cannon had even instructed her father to let Zakouto in their home on one occasion, saying she'd called him over.

Cannon was found dead in a bedroom of the home Dec. 23, 2000. She had been shot twice, beaten and had multiple stab wounds.

Zakouto faces multiple felony counts, including murder and burglary. The former resident of Israel also faces federal charges for allegedly lying on immigration forms.

During opening arguments before District Judge Joseph Pavlikowski Tuesday, prosecutors described Zakouto as a controlling husband whose actions were motivated by money.

Kane said Zakouto needed Cannon's signature on a document to receive a $14,000 insurance claim for damage to his vehicle, and became angry when she refused.

Zakouto told Cannon he was "desperate" for money and had maxed out all of his credit cards, Kane said.

"He told her that he was a man and that she must do what he says," Kane said.

Terry did not address the insurance claim, but said the surveillance tape prosecutors say caught Zakouto in the act could be the key to his acquittal.

"The defense's position is that this is not Mr. Zakouto," he said. "It's an intruder."

Terry said the figure on the tape took about an hour and a half to enter the house. That type of behavior just isn't his client's style, he said.

"Mr. Zakouto's style was not patience," he said. "It was energy. It was (to) move in quickly."