Rehearsed Slaying, Paper Says of 2 Accused Youths

SANTA BARBARA — Two prep school students who have been charged with the stabbing murder of a transient allegedly sharpened a military knife and practiced attack maneuvers hours before the slaying, court documents quoted in a newspaper indicated Thursday.

The two youths--one from Palo Alto and another from Victoria, Tex.--are both 17 years old. They bragged to friends about the homicide and one showed off the body to collect a $50 bet, the Santa Barbara News-Press reported.

Documents Cited

The newspaper cited court documents and interviews with investigators in the case.

Michael Stephenson, 29, bled to death Aug. 4 in a Santa Barbara park after suffering a deep throat wound believed to have been caused by a large knife, Sgt. Brian Abbott said.

Police declined to comment directly on reports that the boys may have been influenced by “Rambo,” the fictional Vietnam veteran portrayed by actor Sylvester Stallone, who combines jungle guerrilla tactics and advanced military combat skills to kill more than 40 people in the movie “Rambo: First Blood Part II.”

“I think it (the movie) is going to be an issue,” Abbott said. “The title of the movie did come up during our interviews with the boys.”

Targeted by Mistake

Detectives have said Stephenson was mistakenly killed by the youths, who allegedly were searching for a group of youths who hassled them days earlier.