Hit man guilty in Schockner killing
Panel needs only half an hour to convict man in alleged murder-for-hire plot of
husband.
By Wendy Thomas Russell, Staff writer
Article Launched: 03/13/2007 10:03:17 PM PDT
Twenty-five-year-old Nicholas Harvey listens to a jury's guilty verdict Tuesday on charges of
first-degree murder for financial gain in the 2004 killing of Lynn Schockner, 50, of Bixby
Knolls. (Diandra Jay / Press-Telegram)
LONG BEACH - Faced with what they described as "overwhelming evidence," Long Beach
Superior Court jurors deliberated for less than 35 minutes Tuesday before convicting an
inexperienced hit man of first-degree murder for financial gain in the 2004 slaying of a Bixby
Knolls woman.
Nicholas Harvey, 25, appeared sullen but showed no other emotion as the seven-woman, fiveman jury returned its verdict just as the courthouse was closing for the day. In the audience
behind him, Harvey's family sobbed quietly and held their faces in their hands.
In addition to murder for financial gain, the Port Hueneme body builder was convicted of firstdegree burglary as well as special allegations that he personally used a knife and caused great
bodily injury. He faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole when he
returns to court next month.
The quick verdict stunned attorneys, court staff and the victim's brothers - who attended
every day of the trial but missed the verdict because they were slated to fly back to their
respective homes in Georgia and North Carolina after closing arguments Tuesday.
"We are gratified and appreciative of the thoughtful and incisive verdict delivered by the fine men and women of the
jury," brother Mark Jicha said by phone Tuesday evening. "I had hoped I would be able to be there to thank each and
every one of them personally."
Lynn Schockner, 50, was stabbed to death on the back porch of her house on the morning of
Nov. 8, 2004, as part of a murder plot allegedly masterminded by her estranged husband,
Manfred, with whom she shared a 14-year-old son.
$5,000 for hit?
Prosecutors have alleged that Manfred Schockner, now 66, promised Harvey $5,000 to stage a
burglary and kill his wife to prevent her from taking money in their pending divorce. Manfred
Schockner and an alleged middleman named Frankie Jaramillo are slated to be tried
separately this spring.
Jurors interviewed after Tuesday's verdict said they felt no need to draw out the deliberations
after being dispatched to the jury room about 3:40 p.m., following closing arguments in the
four-day trial.
Shortly before 4:15 p.m., a bailiff entered the room to tell jurors they could go home and was
informed that the jury had managed to reach a verdict.
"The evidence was overwhelming," said juror No. 1, a Torrance man who spoke on condition of anonymity. "It
was overwhelming."
He said jurors "tippy-toed" around the issue for a few minutes after convening, then re-read a few specific jury
instructions before polling themselves for the first time. It was immediately clear, he said, that further
deliberations were unnecessary.
"There was no one who had a qualm about it," he said. "It was unanimous."
Lynn Schockner and her son, Charlie, were living in the family's home on Andrews Drive in Bixby Knolls when
Harvey, dressed in black and wearing latex gloves, hopped over their back fence and hid in some bushes.
A next-door neighbor saw Harvey and called 911, summoning no fewer than six police officers to the home.
Hoping to catch the burglar in the act, the officers quietly surrounded the home and, when they saw Lynn
Schockner at her front window, waved for her to come out. Her son was not home at the time, and she had been
sleeping.
As officers moved to a side gate to gain entry into her backyard, Schockner offered to retrieve the gate key and
disappeared inside. That was at 11:11 a.m. She never returned, and her body was found minutes later on the
back porch.
Harvey, who had no knowledge of the police presence on the property, slashed Schockner's neck and hands 10
times with a dagger, then darted into her bedroom, retrieved a handful of costume jewelry and fled over the back
fence - where he was immediately arrested.
During his closing argument Tuesday, defense attorney Anthony Patalano painted his client as a naive young man
who was pressured into becoming a hit man by his two alleged conspirators who took advantage of the fact that
Harvey's heavy steroid use had transformed him into an aggressive, would-be "junior commando."
"They abused his abuse of steroids," Patalano argued.
Patalano had prepared to argue that his client was suffering from a so-called "steroid-facilitated rage reaction,"
as was reported by his expert witness, Dr. Ronald Siegel, a psychopharmacologist and associate research
professor at UCLA.
But after questioning out of the jury's presence Tuesday morning, Judge Gary Ferrari limited the scope of Siegel's
testimony, saying the doctor could speak about his knowledge of steroids in general but make no determinations
regarding Harvey specifically.
On the stand, Siegel acknowledged that steroids can alter a person's mental state but fell far short of testifying
that steroids could incite someone to commit a killing.
Deputy District Attorney Cindy Barnes dismissed Siegel's testimony as irrelevant and described Harvey as a man
who has repeatedly lied to police, as well as the jury, in an attempt to place himself in the best possible light.
She pointed out that, by his own admission during his testimony in the trial, he was a wannabe hit man who
idolized comic-book characters, such as the Hulk, and bragged about his ability to beat up three to five men at
one time.
"This is not some naive, innocent kid who was manipulated by two older men," she said. "He took steroids to get
get bigger, stronger, faster, meaner, and that's what he did."
Own testimony hurts
Jurors interviewed said the defendant's contention on the stand that he didn't remember the killing, that it was
unintentional and that he was influenced to participate in the murder-for-hire because of his 4-year addiction to
anabolic steroids, were simply not credible.
"If you put yourself in certain situations, you've got to live with the consequences," said a San Pedro man who
identified himself only as juror No. 5.
Mark Jicha, who lives in Georgia and works as the publisher of a humor magazine, is raising the Schockners' son,
Charlie, now 16, as his own. During Harvey's trial, Jicha could be seen taking copious notes, so he could
"accurately portray to Charlie what has transpired," he said.
He said he and his brother, Jon, a college professor living in North Carolina, thought it was important to appear in
the court audience to put a human face on the prosecution's cases. Both the Jicha brothers said they were
uncertain whether Charlie would attend his father's trial - since the witness list has not been finalized - but they
said the teenager does have a desire to confront his father in court and will likely return to California for that
purpose.
In a statement released to the Press-Telegram, Mark Jicha expressed deep appreciation to the police officers
involved in his sister's case. And, in an interview, he stressed that they bore no responsibility for his sister's
death whatsoever.
"They did their level best to protect residents and apprehend a criminal," he said. "Putting responsibility on
anyone but the killers is absurd."