Scott Dyleski

Scott Dyleski
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Scott Dyleski
Born 30 October 1988 (age 23)
San Francisco, USA
Conviction(s) First degree murder
Penalty Life imprisonment
Conviction Status Incarcerated in Salinas Valley State Prison
Scott Edgar Dyleski (born October 30, 1988 in San Francisco, California) was convicted of murdering his neighbor, Pamela Vitale, the wife of prominentattorney Daniel Horowitz. He received the maximum penalty allowed by the law, life in prison without parole. As a juvenile at the time of the murder he did not qualify for the death penalty. The murder was committed on October 15, 2005, just two weeks shy of Dyleski's 17th birthday. The murder was alleged to have occurred during a burglary of Pamela Vitale's home. He is now serving his sentence inSalinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, California.
Contents [hide]
1 Background
2 Murder of Pamela Vitale and criminal trial
3 Verdict
4 Appeals
5 Exhibits to Petition
6 External links
[edit]Background

Dyleski was born in San Francisco, California to Kenneth Dyleski and Esther Fielding. His parents separated when he was three years old, and Scott was raised by his mother. Duringelementary school, Scott moved with his mother to Lafayette, California, and began living in the home of another family, with whom they had long been friends. Dyleski attended Lafayette public schools, including Acalanes High School, where he dressed in dark clothing and was described as a "non-conformist" by a fellow student.
[edit]Murder of Pamela Vitale and criminal trial



A compilationof three photos of Scott Dyleski, run on the cover of the San Francisco Chronicle. The picture on the right, of Dyleski in the ninth grade, which shows him in makeup and long hair, was criticized by his defense attorney as unfair and misleading, because by fall 2006 Dyleski's appearance had become more conservative and mainstream. The Dyleski trial sparked controversy over the goth scene.
OnOctober 15, 2005, Dyleski's neighbor Pamela Vitale was found murdered in her home. She was found lying in the entryway just inside the front door and had been bludgeoned to death. Five days later, on October 20, 2005 Dyleski was arrested in suspicion of committing the murder.
Initially Dyleski was represented by attorney Thomas McKenna. He later asked to be removed from the case, because he defendedthe driver of a car that killed Dyleski's sister and another passenger in 2002. Dyleski was then represented by Ellen Leonida, a public defender.[1] Dyleski pleaded not guilty.
Investigators believe Dyleski and his friend, Robin Croen, planned to grow marijuana in Scott Dyleski's closet, with Dyleski in charge of raising money, according to Croen, who was granted immunity for testifying. Hetestified that Dyleski used stolen credit card information belonging to his neighbors and used the cards to order lighting equipment. He also testified that his role in the credit card scam was researching what equipment to order. Croen actually constructed[clarification needed] order forms from websites that he claims he then sent to Dyleski. According to prosecutors, one of Dyleski's orders usedthe credit card information for Karen Schneider, but mistakenly used Vitale's address as the address to bill, and his own address as the ship-to address. The lighting company refused to process the order, suspecting it was fraudulent. Dyleski told Croen that he would "take care of it" [2] and, subsequently, he made one more attempt by calling the credit card company.[3]
Authorities believeDyleski was surprised by Vitale during a burglary of her home. They alleged that he killed Vitale by striking her numerous times in the head, possibly with a rock, and then carved a symbol into her back. During the trial, Prosecutor Harold Jewett tried to establish that the symbol found on the victim's back closely resembled the letter "H" in the word "hate" from a bumper sticker reading "I'm for the...