Defendant Says Police ‘Targeted’ Him as Suspect

Murder defendant Ernest Scherer III testified Monday about the week in March 2008 that his parents’ bodies were found slain in their Castlewood home and the ensuing investigation, in which he said he was treated “like more and more of a suspect” by police investigators.

According to Scherer III, his first inkling that he was a suspect came two days after Ernest Scherer Jr. and Charlene Abendroth were found beaten and stabbed to death in their Pleasanton-area residence. In a March 16, 2008, interview with Mike Norton, a detective with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, Scherer III was asked about his shoe size and cars. Those inquiries put him on edge, he said Monday in court. His somber testimony was far different from that of the more colorful, lively Scherer III who spoke last week about his upbringing, family ties and gambling life.

Scherer III’s testimony focused on March 2008; investigators believe the couple was murdered on March 7. Scherer III said his nervousness forced him into a lie during the March 16 interview in which he told Norton he had no debt at the time with any poker players.  In fact, he said, he had owed $20,000 to Greg Mascio, who has placed several times in the World Series of Poker.

“I felt like a suspect and it’s not a pleasant feeling,” he said. Scherer III said he offered to accompany his sister and another investigator on a walk-through the next day, March 17, of the crime scene in the Castlewood home. Scherer III said the detective rebuffed his offer. “I found it odd that they invited her to the house and not me,” said Scherer III, adding that, days earlier, he had asked police when the home would be open for him to retrieve contact information for his parents’ funeral.

Scherer III said he went to the Castlewood home on March 15 and 16 and asked Kirsten Tucker, an Alameda County sheriff's detective, when he would be allowed into the home. According to earlier testimony from Tucker, Scherer III became “hostile” when he was denied entry. Scherer III said he never asked for entry and was only looking for a timeline that could help him gauge when the residence would be reopened for family.

According to Scherer III, Tucker “treated me dismissively,” causing him to be “frustrated.” “We didn’t have Bill Baker’s number, we didn’t have a lot of phone numbers,” said Scherer III, referring to the former congressman and friend of his father. “People don’t expect to be contacted when this happens to be told the funeral is tomorrow.  They need time to get off from work and such, so I wanted to know when I could get that contact information.”

Scherer III also tried to discount the credibility of several witnesses called earlier in the trial. His aunt Carolyn Oesterle said that, while on a walk with Scherer III in the days following the discovery of the bodies, she saw him cheering to himself when talking about the murders. She also said that Scherer III spoke to her several times about fleeing before he was arrested.

Scherer III denied both accounts, saying, “I’ve never been on a walk around the block with my aunt — ever.” He said he spoke to Oesterle about feeling targeted after initial interviews with police.  She advised him to seek legal counsel before talking to police again, he said. “I was raised with a healthy distrust of law enforcement,” he said.

Scherer III also said he spoke to his wife, Robyn, about feeling that he was a suspect in the investigation; on March 17, his suspicions led her to delete text messages her husband had sent her on March 7.  According to earlier testimony from Robyn Scherer, her husband pushed her to delete the texts. Scherer III said it was his wife's idea. “She was looking through her texts and said having any texts on that day probably wouldn’t look good and asked if she should delete them,” he testified. “I wish I hadn’t, but I said, ‘Yeah, that would probably be a good idea.’ ”

Prosecutors highlighted an almost 17-hour gap in Scherer III’s cell phone usage between March 7 and March 8 that they say coincides with the murders. Scherer III testified that during that gap he was driving home from Las Vegas to his Los Angeles home. He said that upon arriving home, he found that his cell phone had shut off because the battery needed recharging. Scherer III said he plugged the phone in and fell asleep on a couch in the empty home. His wife and son were in Sacramento with her family.

Scherer III then recalled March 14, 2008, for jurors. In Las Vegas again, Scherer III said he was walking to his car on the strip when he received a call from his sister, Catherine Scherer, telling him their parents had been found dead and home “ransacked.”

“My first reaction was absolutely denial: ‘It just can’t be true,’” he said. “I was just in shock.” Scherer III added that he believed from early on that the deaths were linked to some type of burglary gone wrong. “Right when I heard the word ‘ransacked’ I assumed a home invasion or burglary,” he said.

In their March 16 interviews with family members, police said that they did not believe the incident was a burglary because a wad of cash of $9,000-plus was found in the home along with other valuables.

Scherer III’s testimony continues Tuesday.