A description of Copple’s confession
Thursday, July 13, 2006 1:15 AM PDT[Napa Valley Register Online]Editor’s note: Napa law enforcement officials say Eric Copple confessed to killing two young women in November 2004. The following is a portion of the transcript from the May 2006 preliminary hearing in the case. The questions are asked by Napa County Chief Deputy District Attorney Mark Boessenecker to Napa Police Detective Todd Shulman, the lead investigator in the case. A flex tie or zip tie is a plastic strip sometimes used to bind electrical wires. Lily refers to Copple’s wife.
The excerpt begins after the witness addressed Copple’s arrest at the police station and the fact that he had been given his Miranda rights.
It’s amazing that Eric Copple can go ahead and plead Not-Guilty after a pretty damning interview with Police… and this after being given his miranda rights. What’s worse is that this trial will go on for a long time, just because the judicial system allows people to declare themselves Not-Guiilty and go through a full trial, even after detailing exactly what they did.
Q: Did you interview — following that Miranda advisement by Officer Davis did you then that evening interview the defendant about the killings of Leslie Mazzara and Adriane Insogna?
A: Yes.
Q: Did he tell you — did the defendant tell you who had killed Leslie Mazzara?
A: Yes.
Q: What did he say?
A: He said he did.
Q: Did the defendant tell you who had killed Adriane Insogna?
A: Yes.
Q: What did he say?
A: He said he did.
Q: Did he tell you whether he knew either of the victims?
A: Yes.
Q: What did he say?
A: He said he had known Adriane through Lily.
Q: Did he tell you, give you some facts or some description of how it was that he ended up in their home killing them that night?
A: Yes.
Q: What did he tell you?
A: He said that he had attended a party earlier that evening with Lily and some friends. And that he had become intoxicated and subsequently gone home to his house. That he blacked out or passed out, and that at some point he woke up and went into the garage of the residence and obtained the zip ties from the garage. He said he also obtained a knife with a four- or five-inch blade. He wasn’t positive where he had obtained that from, but he thought it was from the garage as well. He said he then remembered driving in his vehicle, and he next remembered pulling up on Dorset Street parking under a street light. He then remembered standing by the front garage of the residence on Dorset under a security light.
Q: Did you ask him to explain why he brought the flex ties with him?
A: Yes.
Q: What did he — how did he respond?
A: He couldn’t explain why he did that.
Q: Did you ask him to explain why he had the knife?
A: Yes.
Q: How did he respond?
A: He couldn’t explain that.
Q: What did he say he did when he got to the residence?
A: He said he stood under the front security light for some period of time smoking a cigarette.
Q: Did he say whether or not the security light in the front of the house was going? Was functioning?
A: Yes.
Q: What did he say?
A: He said it was functioning. That it — he felt the light coming down over him. And that it would periodically go on and off.
Q: What did he say he did next?
A: He said he next remembered being at the front window and using his knife in some fashion to pry the window open.
Q: Then what did he say happened?
A: He next remembered being in the living room area. That it was pitch black. And that he could hear a dog growling in his left ear.
Q: What else did he say that he did?
A: He said he then went upstairs to a bedroom and laid down on a pile of clothes at the foot of a bed.
Q: Then what?
A: He next realized that Adriane was awake. That a light had turned on in the room.
Q: And what did he say happened?
A: He said that he was startled by this. That he jumped up on the bed and that he was thinking that he didn’t want her to make any noise.
Q: So what did he say he did?
A: He couldn’t remember specifically what he did. He said he blacked out at that point. He does remember being hit in the face by Adriane prior to that.
Q: Did he say whether he kept his eyes open or closed?
A: He said he closed his eyes.
Q: Then what did he say he did?
A: He then heard a sound behind him. A thud he described.
Q: And then what?
A: He said he turned around took one step on the bed, and then two more steps off of the bed toward the direction of Leslie’s room.
Q: And then what?
A: He said he remembered Leslie’s door being opened and it being very dark. He couldn’t see anybody or anything. And he said he moved toward that room.
Q: And then what?
A: He couldn’t remember. He said he couldn’t remember actually attacking Leslie. And he said he had his eyes closed.
Q: He said he had his eyes closed. When he got to the point — let me back up for a second. When he’s in Adriane’s room, when you got to the point where he’s on the bed and the light goes on, did he describe for you him stabbing Adriane?
A: He couldn’t describe the details of the stabbing.
Q: Yet he acknowledged to you that he had killed both these young women. Is that correct?
A: Yes.
Q: And when he got to the point where he confronted Leslie did he tell you the details of how he stabbed her?
A: No, he couldn’t tell me how he did that.
Q: What was his excuse for why he couldn’t tell?
A: He said he only had partial memory of what happened. Bits and pieces of different events. Flashes of memory he called it, I think.
Q: Did you confront him about details that you felt were inconsistent with that claim?
A: Yes.
Q: Did you confront him with the fact that he had gone to this residence possessing flex ties and a knife?
A: Yes.
Q: And what was his response?
A: He couldn’t explain why he did that.
Q: Did you confront him with the fact that there were — that he had — let me back up for a second. I’m sorry. Where was — did he tell you where he was living at that time?
A: Yes. …
Q: And to get to the residence at Dorset from (Copple’s residence) what did it involve in terms if you were driving a vehicle?
A: Well, there is a couple different routes you can go, but it’s not a direct drive. You have to make several turns. And the quickest route is on the freeway.
Q: You would be — it would be necessary to be able to operate a vehicle?
A: Yes.
Q: Know where to turn, correct?
A: Yes.
The excerpt begins after the witness addressed Copple’s arrest at the police station and the fact that he had been given his Miranda rights.
Tags: Interesting, Legal, Local, Napa
August 16th, 2006 at 12:42 pm
So he did not really remember killing those two females and he had his eyes closed!
sounds like he setting up his defense ahead of a trial!Guess he wants to reside at Napa State hospital and get released- ‘cured’- at some future day.Happens all the time in this liberal culture.
Well,he can ‘close his eyes’ when he gets his Injection at San Quentin-provided those jury members don’t fall for his lies.
September 1st, 2006 at 11:07 pm
9/1/06
What a crock of shit this guy is giving!!!!!!! How convienent to “not remember” that he took flex ties over there, drove on the freeway and managed to find the house. I hope he gets the death penalty or worse, someone yanks him in the joint.And all this stuff about “I don’t remeber’ when it’s convienent, is what it is, bull!!!!!!!
I do pray that the jury will see through his stuff.
we want to know Why he killed these two young women?
This guy is definetly a sociapath. Any shrink can see through it. That’s all I have to say for now. just hope he gets what he deserves. If he doesn’t there is certainly something wrong with the judicial system in Napa county. Of course, what else is new?
December 5th, 2006 at 4:28 pm
who are you people?…commenting about this. you have no right to say anything about either side of this arguement. you do not know, therefor do not speak. remember that both sides of this have families who care. so get off your high horses and just leave the decisions to the court & people invloved. its a horible thing that has happened, that you wouldnt know anything about the pain the families are going through. and dont speak on napa unless you wanna come down here and say something about it….yadida?
December 5th, 2006 at 5:20 pm
I know the pain that people are going through. The woman he murdered was my sisters friend.
I’ll be posting tonight, but his trial started.
December 16th, 2006 at 3:23 pm
Of course he pleaded not guilty at the beginning. I guess it was either that or the death penalty. I suppose attornies come up with stuff like that?
Now, dead and oblivious, or an eternity living in a small room with no privacy, staring at the same four walls. Maybe life in jail is a better punishment after all, hmm?
July 27th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
What happened to these two woman is a shame. To think this man was married to one of the victims best friend’s. Leslie grew up in Anderson, South Carolina. She travels across the United States looking to continue her wonderful life and she encounters the “evil” that walks on our streets everyday. I wish this did not happen in California to these bright, educated and thoughtful woman. The killer will “rot” away in prison. What a waste of a life.