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Karl
Eugene Chamberlain lived next door to Felicia Prechtl, a single
mother, and her five-year-old son. On August 12, 1991, Chamberlain
observed Felicia’s brother leaving with Felicia’s son. Chamberlain
went next door “to borrow a cup of sugar.” Upon gaining entry to
Felicia’s apartment, Chamberlain bound her with duct tape and
sexually assaulted her. Chamberlain then shot Felicia in the
forehead, killing her. Felicia’s semi-nude body was discovered on
the bathroom floor some thirty-five minutes later by her brother and
son upon their return to the apartment. Chamberlain walked his dogs
after the murder. Chamberlain’s guilt was not uncovered until 1997.
In the meantime, he confessed the murder to others, relating that he
had gone to borrow a cup of sugar from his neighbor and that she had
answered the door naked and seduced him. Chamberlain further
elaborated that Felicia had delighted in their sexual intercourse
and explained that he had killed her in a panic only when she
threatened to inform his wife of their sexual encounter. While
Chamberlain says his non-violent past supports his contention that
the evidence is insufficient to show that he is a continuing threat
to society, the evidence does show a history of violence. The State
introduced evidence that Chamberlain had attacked a fellow soldier
with a knife and a woman at a shopping mall with a stun gun. The
State also introduced evidence that Chamberlain broke into a
pornography shop when, seeking pornography, he had found the shop
closed. In addition to this evidence of a violent past, the State
introduced the testimony of Dr. Kenneth DeKleva, a psychiatrist.
DeKleva asserted that the facts of the offense reveal a sexually
sadistic, antisocial personality disorder. DeKleva noted that the
crime scene revealed that the perpetrator needed to inflict
humiliation, degradation and pain to achieve sexual gratification.
DeKleva testified that leaving Felicia uncovered and exposed evinced
a lack of regard for her humanity and utter lack of remorse.
Similarly, DeKleva testified that the fact that Chamberlain walked
his dogs after committing the offense also revealed a disturbing
lack of remorse. The subsequent fantasies blaming Felicia for
seducing him, along with Chamberlain’s claims that she enjoyed the
assault and then blaming her for the murder because she was going to
tell his wife, were all, according to DeKleva, evidence of a
dangerous personality disorder. DeKleva noted the evidence of
Chamberlain’s overpowering sexual urges, i.e., that as a teenager he
kept a mannequin with the crotch cut out, that he burglarized the
pornography store when he found it closed and had stolen inflatable
sex dolls. DeKleva testified that there is no known treatment for a
sexually sadistic killer and no evidence that their fantasies
eventually subside. DeKleva testified that these traits reveal a
dangerous person, particularly when that person had already
fulfilled some of his violent fantasies. DeKleva concluded the
evidence established that Chamberlain would probably commit criminal
acts of violence constituting a continuing threat to society. At
trial, evidence showed that a number of obscene calls were traced by
the phone company to Chamberlain’s telephone at work. A phone
company spokesperson testified that after receiving complaints about
obscene phone calls to two Pennsylvania establishments, they traced
a number of subsequent calls to a telephone extension registered to
a telemarketing firm. The owner of the company testified that each
salesman’s telephone was limited to an assigned geographical area.
He testified that a computer system recorded each salesman’s calls,
so that supervisors could see from what extension a call was made,
what time it was made, the number dialed and the length of the call.
When he was informed by the police about the obscene calls to
Pennsylvania, he ran the two phone numbers given to him by the
police through his computer system. Chamberlain’s extension was
shown as the number from which the calls originated. Chamberlain was
confronted with these facts and though he never admitted to the
phone calls, the calls ceased after he was confronted. |
