Murder Motive

This is a partial transcript of "The Big Story With John Gibson," October 17, 2005, that has been edited for clarity.

JOHN GIBSON, HOST: A friend of Daniel Horowitz (search) says the defense lawyer feared for his own life. Horowitz has defended criminals ranging from drug dealers to murders. Joining me now on the phone is FOX News legal analyst Bob Massi, a friend of Horowitz who was with him just hours before Horowitz found Pamela Vitale (search) dead. So Bob, what was the mood of your friend just hours before he found his wife dead?

BOB MASSI, FOX NEWS LEGAL ANALYST: John, it was a normal thing. We met in Lafayette, California. I was visiting my son, who goes to school there. We had breakfast because there was a case that he actually referred to me, in Las Vegas, something we had been working on. So we had breakfast about 8:00 Saturday morning until about 10 o'clock. You know, everything was normal. We talked a little business and to be honest with you after that, we talked about family. We talked about his wife, my wife, the children. You know, how things are going. He was very excited about the fact that, you know, he's building this new home and his wife is overseeing it and she's helping with his law practice. So it was just normal conversation, John.

GIBSON: Bob, let's take a look at that home. This is a huge house. They were living in a mobile home next door to it while this thing was under construction. I understand Mr. Horowitz is a very successful lawyer but any chance there's any financial strains because of this huge house?

MASSI: I have never really gone into his finances with him, obviously, because it's none of my business. But I will tell you that I never have received that impression from him that he's not financially solvent, able to do whatever he wants to do for purposes of improving his property. I don't think that really was ever going to be an issue with him. He's very, very competent of what he does and I think he's a good businessman on top of that so I don't suspect that's an issue.

GIBSON: We're looking at the mobile home where Pamela Vitale and her husband, Daniel Horowitz, were living while their house was under construction and that is where she was found dead. Bob Massi, thanks a lot, Bob.

MASSI: Thanks, John.

GIBSON: For more on the case, let's go to Jim Hammer, former San Francisco assistant district attorney and FOX News Channel legal analyst. So Jim, Daniel Horowitz appeared on our air, on the FOX News Channel somewhat frequently during the Scott Peterson (search) case. What can you tell us about him and did you know his wife?

JIM HAMMER, FMR. SAN FRANCISCO ASST. D.A.: You know, I met his wife a couple of times. I was at that Peterson trial every day. Dan comes across as a very easygoing guy, kind of a quirky guy, John, with a little bit off-center sense of humor. Somebody who was excited to be on television, was a real true believer as a defense attorney. When he found this case that he's representing now, the case that was just declared a mistrial, he really got excited about it. He thought it was going to be a case of a lifetime for him. Again, I never saw a violent or angry streak in the guy whatsoever. Again, no one knows right now exactly what did happen in this case, John.

GIBSON: Well, nobody knows, but that doesn't stop us from wondering. You know, earlier the publisher of The San Francisco Chronicle, Phil Bronstein, dropped the hint that they had received word that it might have been a caretaker or someone working on this project at this house. Do you know anything about this rather large construction project that they had going?

HAMMER: Well, you mentioned that, whether or not there were any financial issues going on. I can tell you, it's been reported now that Horowitz actually took out a $300,000 loan from a neighbor to help on that construction project. That's something investigators want to look into, John. I tell you, the most chilling thing I found Monday, over at the records office, right across from the courthouse is this document here. It's an application for restraining order that Horowitz, himself, filed earlier this year. In that, and I'm not going to name the name now, he lays out what he says is a series of violent and threatening incidents by someone who lived near him at that property, terrorizing him, stealing a car and crashing it in a mailbox. He was so frightened he laid all this out.

GIBSON: Does it say why? What was it all about?

HAMMER: Well, it says that the guy was delusional, that he was a methamphetamine addict, that he was an alcoholic, suffered delusions. One of the paragraphs lays out that this guy, allegedly, apparently, he was afraid everyone was trying to kill him. Listen to this, this is the most chilling sentence in the entire thing, John. At the very end of it, Horowitz writes, "I have phrased this declaration in personal terms but most important to me is that he stay way from my wife, Pamela. That was filed in June, on June 23, the day he was due to go to court. Nobody showed up and it got dismissed, John. So no restraining order was ever issued against this guy.

GIBSON: All right. Jim Hammer, digging down deep. Thanks a lot, Jim. Appreciate that information. It's quite interesting.

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