Geez.

Well look at the turn this story took: it seems the suspect is a kid who thought his pot-growing apparatus was delivered to the wrong address. (From CNN)

Vitale slaying suspect charged with murder
Teenager described as loner, will be tried as an adult

MARTINEZ, California (CNN) -- A 16-year-old California boy was charged Friday with one count of murder in the beating death of Pamela Vitale, the wife of prominent defense attorney Daniel Horowitz. The suspect, Scott Edgar Dyleski, will be tried as an adult, according to Hal Jewett, Contra Costa County deputy district attorney. Bail was set at $1 million.

Dyleski has been described by classmates as a goth loner who followed the occult and dressed in black from the polish on his fingernails to his trench coat. Police say he apparently acted alone.

Horowitz found Vitale's body Saturday night when he returned to a trailer the couple shared while they built a dream home on a hilltop in affluent Lafayette, east of Oakland. Authorities said Vitale, 52, was bludgeoned with a strip of crown molding and fought with her killer. A Gothic cross was carved into her back.

"He was just really a Gothic kid, and everyone knew who he was just because of his apparel. When you heard the name, you were just like, 'Oh, that kid,' " a classmate told CNN. "He just definitely stood out in front of anybody in the school," the classmate added. "When he walked by, everybody talked about him -- like, he definitely didn't blend in."

Former classmates told The Associated Press that Dyleski drew a pentagram on the ground at school and that he read from "the book of Satan." They described him to the wire service as a quiet student at Acalanes High School in Lafayette, where he stood out because of his attire. "He was really Gothic, always wore a long, dark jacket," Kevin Etheridge, 16, told the AP. "He'd hang out with a few kids, but he was pretty quiet, pretty much to himself."

While authorities say the motive is not clear, the San Francisco Chronicle, citing an unidentified law enforcement source, reported that investigators said they suspect the killing was related to a scheme that involved using stolen credit card numbers to fund a marijuana-growing operation. The Chronicle's source said the boy had ordered equipment for the operation and mistakenly thought the supplies were delivered to Horowitz and Vitale's home, the newspaper reported Friday on its Web site.

The teen went there Saturday looking for the equipment and got in a fight with Vitale, striking her dozens of times in the head with a piece of molding that was left behind at the scene, according to the Chronicle's source. The boy, who lived on a remote canyon road down the hill from the estate, had scratches on his arms and legs, the newspaper reported.

A man at the house where the suspect lived declined to comment Thursday, as goats and chickens wandered around the property. A potbelly stove, a bathtub and dozens of baseballs littered the yard, AP reported. If Dyleski is convicted of murder as an adult, he would face up to life in prison. If convicted as a juvenile, he would be freed on his 25th birthday. He is too young to face the death penalty.