New Light on a Distant Verdict

He is not insisting anymore.

"The bottom line is, I now have reasonable doubt," he said. He welcomed further scrutiny of the case, he added. "The truth is the truth -- and I want the truth to come out."

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Scene of the crime

Dorka Lisker was fatally stabbed and beaten in her home on March 10, 1983. Her son Bruce, then 17, was convicted of the murder. A look at key issues and pieces of evidence:

Bruce said that after his mother failed to answer the front door, he ran to the rear of the house, looked through the living room window and glimpsed what he thought were her feet. Police said he could not have seen her because of the sun's glare.

Next, Lisker said, he went to the patio, looked through the dining room window and saw his mother's head. Police said furniture and an interior planter would have blocked his view.

Lisker said he then ran to the louvered kitchen window, removed the panes, climbed in and rushed to his mother's aid.

A bloody footprint was found in a bathroom near the kitchen. The prosecution identified it as Bruce's.

Dorka was stabbed in the back with two steak knives. Police found them on the floor near her body.

She was also beaten with a Little League trophy and an exercise bar. They were found in the master bedroom.

Dorka's black patent-leather purse was found on a living room sofa. The prosecution said Bruce attacked his mother after she caught him taking money from it.

SOURCE: Police and court records, Times research.

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How This Story Was Reported

In preparing this story, Times reporters Matt Lait and Scott Glover relied on extensive public and private records and interviews with more than 40 people, including most of the surviving key figures in the case.

The Times obtained a copy of the confidential LAPD file on the murder investigation, which comprises hundreds of pages of interview notes, autopsy findings, crime-scene diagrams and other material.

The reporters interviewed Bruce Lisker for about two hours at Mule Creek State Prison on Dec. 12 and spoke with him dozens of other times by telephone. They interviewed Det. Andrew R. Monsue for about 90 minutes on Nov. 15. He did not respond to requests for follow-up interviews.

The reporters had extensive communication with retired prosecutor Phillip Rabichow, including seven in-person interviews and numerous phone conversations and e-mail exchanges. They also interviewed top LAPD officials overseeing the homicide and internal affairs bureaus.