Confessed child killer seeks to recant testimony

Jeremy Strohmeyer returns to court Tuesday in a bid to recant his guilty pleas in the rape and strangulation of a 7-year-old Los Angeles girl in a Nevada casino.

Strohmeyer is serving four life prison terms after pleading guilty in the May 1997 slaying of Sherrice Iverson in a Primm, Nev. casino restroom.

Strohmeyer, now 21, entered guilty pleas to the charges in September 1998 as he was scheduled to go to trial.

In November, Strohmeyer asked to withdraw his plea, saying he was "bullied" into pleading guilty by his former defense attorneys, Leslie Abramson of Los Angeles and Richard Wright of Las Vegas.

Strohmeyer is expected to testify at the hearing, which is likely to take two days.

District Court Judge Joseph Bonaventure will rule on whether Strohmeyer can withdraw his guilty plea, in which case he would face a new trial.

Strohmeyer's new attorney, Camille Abate of New York City, contends her client has no memory of what happened during a 22-minute span after he followed the young girl into a restroom near the casino's video arcade.

"He's nervous, but he's convinced he's doing the right thing," Abate said Monday. "He's waiting to tell the judge what was wrong with the plea."

Abate said Strohmeyer has no idea what happened during a 22-minute span at the casino on the California-Nevada state line, 45 miles southwest of Las Vegas.

"He's been really tortured about not knowing what happened," Abate said of her client. "He wants to know what the truth is."

Abate said she had talked with her client Monday and he is aware that he could face the death penalty if he gets a new trial. She has said Strohmeyer "would rather face death and learn what happened, than face life in jail not knowing."

Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell has charged the latest move by Strohmeyer is a waste of taxpayer money.

"He could listen to his original confession and learn pretty quickly," Bell said of defense contentions Strohmeyer did not know what happened in the casino restroom.

Bell has called for Bonaventure to impose sanctions on defense attorneys for bringing the case back to court.

Also testifying in the hearing will be Las Vegas Metropolitan Police detectives Phil Ramos and James Vaccaro, who took Strohmeyer's confession. Abramson and Wright are also scheduled to testify.

Bonaventure reversed himself last week and said that Leroy Iverson, the victim's father, would also be allowed to testify.

The father has told defense attorneys he bumped into Strohmeyer's friend, David Cash Jr., outside the restroom just moments before the girl's body was found. Cash has raised the ire of family members after he admitted seeing Strohmeyer assault the girl but did not stop the attack.

Bell has argued that surveillance videotapes at the resort show Cash and Strohmeyer were gone from the area at least 45 minutes before Leroy Iverson arrived.

The effort to withdraw the guilty pleas presents a gamble for Strohmeyer, who currently is serving life in prison with no possiblity of parole. Prosecutors would again be free to seek the death penalty if the case does go to trial, something Strohmeyer avoided in his 1998 plea bargain.

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