John Osnes

The trial of a Swedish hip-hop artist accused of killing a pedestrian who slapped his SUV began Wednesday with a defense attorney asserting that the late-night killing in a Hollywood crosswalk was self-defense. The lawyer said David Jassy, a 35-year-old songwriter and producer from Stockholm, got out of his rented vehicle and assaulted pedestrian John Osnes, a 55-year-old jazz pianist, because he feared for the safety of himself, his girlfriend and the SUV. "He finds himself confronted with an angry drunk who has been hitting his car," attorney Alec Rose said.

The sentencing of John Osnes' killer Thursday was as muted as the victim's death was shocking. There were no angry words for the man who kicked the Hollywood jazz pianist to death in a brutal act of road rage and no emotion beyond a few choked words and a hand smearing away a tear. "I don't feel compelled to say things that make you suffer more," Osnes' sister Mary Beth Anderson wrote in a letter read in court. "I expect you play that evening over and over in your head, like I do. What if?"

A Swedish hip-hop artist pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the murder of a jazz pianist in what police describe as a road rage incident. David Moses Jassy, 34, is accused of killing John Osnes, 55, in a Hollywood crosswalk last month. Osnes, 55, was walking across the intersection when an SUV driven by Jassy edged into his path, authorities said. After Osnes struck the vehicle, Jassy punched and kicked him and drove over him, authorities said. Jassy remains in custody on $1-million bail.

When he stepped off a plane 16 months ago, David Jassy, a rapper and record producer from Stockholm, planned to make it big in American pop music. On Tuesday, he finally captured the attention of an important audience, but the stage -- a downtown L.A. courtroom -- was one he never wanted. Jassy, 35, took the stand at his murder trial and spoke directly to jurors who will decide whether he spends perhaps the rest of his life in a California prison or returns to Sweden, where he has a successful career, a child and a fashion model girlfriend.

The attorney for a hip-hop artist accused of beating a jazz pianist to death in what has been called a real-life version of the film "Crash" asked Wednesday that charges be reduced from murder to manslaughter. In papers filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the lawyer suggested that Swedish artist David Jassy, 35, acted in self-defense when he punched and kicked John Osnes, 55, during a November confrontation in a Hollywood crosswalk. "A motorist is not required to sit passively in his vehicle while a pedestrian strikes the vehicle and yells at him, and wait and see if the stranger's anger escalates," lawyer Alec Rose wrote.

A Swedish hip-hop artist accused of murdering a jazz pianist in an episode of road rage "is devastated by these events," his attorney said Wednesday. The lawyer for David Jassy, 34, said the fact that the dead man, John Osnes, 55, was "a fellow musician makes it all the sadder." Jassy's arraignment was postponed to Dec. 17 to allow his attorney, Donald Etra, more time to prepare. Jassy, a rapper and songwriter who arrived in the United States in October, punched, kicked and drove over Osnes after a confrontation in a Hollywood crosswalk, police allege.

In a city besotted with automobiles, John Osnes prided himself on doing without one. At 55, he had never owned a car and he never planned to. He loved the subway, the bus and most of all, walking. But being a pedestrian in Los Angeles could be dangerous. Close calls with discourteous drivers grated on Osnes and he sometimes shouted at motorists who failed to yield to those on foot.

The sentencing of John Osnes' killer Thursday was as muted as the victim's death was shocking. There were no angry words for the man who kicked the Hollywood jazz pianist to death in a brutal act of road rage and no emotion beyond a few choked words and a hand smearing away a tear. "I don't feel compelled to say things that make you suffer more," Osnes' sister Mary Beth Anderson wrote in a letter read in court. "I expect you play that evening over and over in your head, like I do. What if?"

When he stepped off a plane 16 months ago, David Jassy, a rapper and record producer from Stockholm, planned to make it big in American pop music. On Tuesday, he finally captured the attention of an important audience, but the stage -- a downtown L.A. courtroom -- was one he never wanted. Jassy, 35, took the stand at his murder trial and spoke directly to jurors who will decide whether he spends perhaps the rest of his life in a California prison or returns to Sweden, where he has a successful career, a child and a fashion model girlfriend.

David Jassy, a rapper and record producer from Sweden, was found guilty Monday of second-degree murder in the death of a pedestrian he was accused of assaulting in a fit of road rage. He faces 15 years to life at a sentencing next month. Witnesses said Jassy, 35, punched, kicked and then ran over John Osnes, a 55-year-old jazz pianist, during the November 2008 incident. Osnes, who did not own a car and was an advocate for pedestrian rights, had struck with his hands the front of Jassy's SUV after it edged into a Hollywood crosswalk.

The trial of a Swedish hip-hop artist accused of killing a pedestrian who slapped his SUV began Wednesday with a defense attorney asserting that the late-night killing in a Hollywood crosswalk was self-defense. The lawyer said David Jassy, a 35-year-old songwriter and producer from Stockholm, got out of his rented vehicle and assaulted pedestrian John Osnes, a 55-year-old jazz pianist, because he feared for the safety of himself, his girlfriend and the SUV. "He finds himself confronted with an angry drunk who has been hitting his car," attorney Alec Rose said.

The attorney for a hip-hop artist accused of beating a jazz pianist to death in what has been called a real-life version of the film "Crash" asked Wednesday that charges be reduced from murder to manslaughter. In papers filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the lawyer suggested that Swedish artist David Jassy, 35, acted in self-defense when he punched and kicked John Osnes, 55, during a November confrontation in a Hollywood crosswalk. "A motorist is not required to sit passively in his vehicle while a pedestrian strikes the vehicle and yells at him, and wait and see if the stranger's anger escalates," lawyer Alec Rose wrote.

In a city besotted with automobiles, John Osnes prided himself on doing without one. At 55, he had never owned a car and he never planned to. He loved the subway, the bus and most of all, walking. But being a pedestrian in Los Angeles could be dangerous. Close calls with discourteous drivers grated on Osnes and he sometimes shouted at motorists who failed to yield to those on foot.

A Swedish hip-hop artist pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the murder of a jazz pianist in what police describe as a road rage incident. David Moses Jassy, 34, is accused of killing John Osnes, 55, in a Hollywood crosswalk last month. Osnes, 55, was walking across the intersection when an SUV driven by Jassy edged into his path, authorities said. After Osnes struck the vehicle, Jassy punched and kicked him and drove over him, authorities said. Jassy remains in custody on $1-million bail.

A Swedish hip-hop artist accused of murdering a jazz pianist in an episode of road rage "is devastated by these events," his attorney said Wednesday. The lawyer for David Jassy, 34, said the fact that the dead man, John Osnes, 55, was "a fellow musician makes it all the sadder." Jassy's arraignment was postponed to Dec. 17 to allow his attorney, Donald Etra, more time to prepare. Jassy, a rapper and songwriter who arrived in the United States in October, punched, kicked and drove over Osnes after a confrontation in a Hollywood crosswalk, police allege.

Re "When fates intersect," April 27 John Osnes' habit of shouting at and challenging motorists who violated pedestrians' right of way, in Los Angeles of all places, was a catalyst for an eventual serious confrontation. David Jassy's brutal and horrific act -- running Osnes down -- I suspect was of a man with severe anger issues who eventually was going to erupt. A sad and tragic story of two individuals who ironically had a great deal in common, whose ultimate fates were senseless and most likely tragically inevitable.