Defense: Murrieta Church Member Killed Fiancee in Panic

A Murrieta church member who killed his fiancee acted in a panic, his defense attorney argued today.

Mickey David Beauchamp Wagstaff, 27, was sleep-deprived and stressed because his relationship with his fiancee, Elizabeth "Bipsy" Kellenbarger Amirian, 27, was falling apart, said Renee Rupp, Wagstaff's attorney, today.

She urged a jury to reject charges of premeditated murder in the Southwest Justice Center during closing arguments.

She asked the jury to find him guilty of a lesser murder charge because he lost control of himself when an officer discovered him and Amirian in his van in the parking structure at the Promenade mall, he said.

"He said it caused his heart to fill with terror. That's the emotion he felt at the time," Rupp told the jury.

She also asked the jury to reject charges that he kidnapped and raped the victim.

Prosecution alleged he tied her up and held her captive in his van. To read about the accusations,

The victim had plenty opportunity to leave the van, but she chose to stay, Rupp said. Her feet were tied together when officers found her, but she still had plenty of mobility, and her hands were free, Rupp said.

To read a description of how she was found,

After she was allegedly held against her will, the couple slept together in his van, and she could easily have escaped, Rupp told the jury.

"It's not enough to prove kidnapping (charges), a loosely tied shirt around the ankles," she said.

She also asked the jury to dismiss a charge that she was raped, because there was no evidence except for the defendant's own confession.

"There's no evidence there was any force," Rupp said.

Wagstaff considers what he did rape because Amirian said they "should wait" until they marry because premarital sex is not right "in God's eyes," the attorney told the jury.

Wagstaff had sex with Amirian anyway, and because he is a devout Seventh Day Adventist, he considered it rape. "He's trying to redefine rape according to his religious beliefs," Rupp said.

The victim never put up any kind of fight, never screamed and never even told the defendant not to do it. She only said they "shouldn't," Wagstaff's attorney said.

During an interrogation, Wagstaff asked an investigator for a moment alone. He then prayed aloud for God to forgive Amirian and asked her name not be slandered. "That's another indication of severe mental instability," Rupp said.

During the interrogations, he avoided questions and often injected religious rhetoric, she said. "sometimes he's not responding to questions. He goes off on these religious tangents," she said. "That's a lot of crazy going on."

He also implied he was possessed by an unseen force when he killed the victim. To read about what he said,

She also asked the jury to reject the idea Wagstaff planned to kill Amirian because they parked in a parking structure with heavy foot traffic. "Why would he go to the most popular location in Temecula? Why not go to some remote location?" Rupp asked the jury.

After the stabbing, Wagstaff froze in the van holding the knife up until the officers broke the windows and attacked him with a Taser, she said.

This showed he was not in his right mind. "(Sheriff's Sgt. Keith Knotek, the officer who allegedly caught Wagstaff in the act) said he's never seen anything like it," Rupp said.

He was stressed because he was struggling with their premarital sex and due to a fight the couple had earlier, Rupp said. To read about the fight,

"This is stress, stress, stress, trigger, go crazy, lose control," she said.

The jury began deliberation today after two weeks of trial.

Wagstaff faces a no-parole life prison term if convicted of first-degree murder and a special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a sexual assault.