Wife of slain attorney wanted him dead, former employee testifies

STOCKTON -- The wife of slain Sacramento attorney Larry McNabney wanted her husband dead, a secretary who worked at McNabney's law office for less than three months, said Friday.

Steffanie Campos, who now lives in Washington, was among several witnesses to testify in San Joaquin Superior Court at the trial of Sarah Dutra, the former employee charged with helping McNabney's wife, Elisa, whose real name was Laren Sims, murder him.

"She wished Larry was dead ... and that she could bury him, and there were people that could help," Campos testified. "She said she could have him killed."

Campos characterized Dutra and Sims as "really, really good friends," almost like sisters.

"According to Elisa, Sarah was her best friend," Campos said.

She testified she only met Sarah once or twice.

Dutra, 22, was arrested in March and charged with helping poison Larry McNabney, a resident of Woodbridge. Dutra could receive life in prison without parole if convicted.

McNabney was last seen alive Sept. 10, 2001, at a Southern California horse show. His body was found five months later buried in a vineyard near Clements.

Authorities then launched a nationwide search for Sims and arrested her in Florida, where she confessed to murdering her husband and implicated Dutra in the crime. Sims hanged herself in jail two weeks later.

On Friday, Campos told jurors she was hired by Sims after answering a newspaper job advertisement. Campos recognized the attorney's name from his previous stint as a personal injury attorney in Reno, Nev., where she used to live, Campos testified.

She never met Larry McNabney in her three months of employment, from January to March 2001, she said.

The secretary, who at times was left alone in the locked law office, said she was let go in March after informing Sims that she was going to go to the Internal Revenue Service herself since taxes were not being taken out of her paycheck.

Campos wasn't the only one who spoke of money Friday.

Lisa Niemi, a Sacramento beauty salon receptionist and manager, testified that Sims oftentimes threw around money "like it was water," she said.

Once the attorney's wife gave Niemi a $20 tip just for handing her a phone book at the salon, Niemi said.

From Sept. 24 to Oct. 15, 2001, Sims came into the salon six times, according to appointment records presented Friday. Sims changed her short brown hair to long blonde with hair extensions, Niemi said.

Jonathan Ricketts, who worked as McNabney's personal banker until November 2001, told jurors how finances were handled for the law office. He said Dutra, often with Sims' daughter, Haylei Jordan, at her side, came into the Bank of America more than any other employee with checks -- some for as much as $18,000. He said he presumed were signed by Larry McNabney.

Former secretary Ginger Miller, who testified earlier in the case, also cashed checks for the law office, Ricketts said.

Once, about six weeks prior to Sept. 11, Ricketts testified, he remembers Dutra bringing in a check that hadn't been signed. When he questioned her about it, she went outside and returned within minutes, he said, with a signed check. When he asked the college student if Larry McNabney was in the car, she said no and he told her she couldn't cash the check.

"It looked just like his signature," Ricketts said, adding that he never met the attorney.

The banker wasn't the only one who may have been defrauded.

Alfred Torres, 78, testified about his experience with the McNabney law office.

Torres said he found the firm from a listing in a phone book after he was injured in a vehicle accident in July 2001. Torres also testified he never met McNabney. McNabney's legal affairs were handled by Sims, Torres said.

Torres seemed stunned Friday to see a copy of a cashed $7,500 claim check from an insurance company that he said he never received. His name had been printed on its back and a bank deposit stamp affixed, according to the copy shown on an overhead projector.

Torres said his communication with law office tapered off in the fall and in November 2001 he called the law office and found the number to be disconnected. When he visited the business, the doors were locked.

"I thought, 'Something funny's going on,'" he said.

Late one night just before Christmas, Torres told jurors he received a phone call from two women who were giggling in the background. One informed him that his check had been received and they would deliver it the next morning, he said, adding that he did not recognize the voices.

After he saw on the news that Larry McNabney had been found dead, he sought another attorney. About two months ago, he received a settlement, but it was only $1,200, he said.

Also Friday, jurors finished listening to a tape-recorded interview Sacramento County sheriff's detectives had with Dutra on Jan. 15, 2002. It was the first interview Dutra had with authorities regarding McNabney's disappearance.

In a quiet voice, Dutra had told two detectives who specialize in missing persons cases that she was worried about Sims, whom she hadn't seen for a week.

At that time, Dutra also told investigators she thought Sims was using her credit cards.

Testimony will continue at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Comments about this story? Send mail to the News-Sentinel newsroom.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE LODI NEWS-SENTINEL

To subscribe to the Lodi News-Sentinel, fill out our online form or call our Subscriber Services Department at (209) 333-1400.

Reader Feedback

Comments on this story are now closed.

Archives

Story Tools

Indexes

Wife of slain attorney wanted him dead, former employee testifies

Reader Feedback

Special Sections

Photo Reprints

Find Ads

Weather

Services

Contact Us

Office

Newsroom

Subscriptions

Advertising

Classifieds