Suspect denies talk of killing his wife - Paxil

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Article Launched: 07/13/2006 07:56:24 AM PDT

Suspect denies talk of killing his wife

By Hamlin/Senior /Staff Writer

Taking the witness stand in his own defense Wednesday, murder defendant Simon

Faeed Ranteesi vehemently denied that he had ever planned or talked about

killing his estranged wife, who was bludgeoned to death outside Ranteesi's

Vacaville home more than three years ago.

A former Vacaville welder, Ranteesi, 45, was arrested on suspicion of murder in

August 2002 after his estranged wife, Milia, was found beaten to death in the

driveway of Ranteesi's Topaz Circle home. She reportedly suffered multiple head

and facial injuries, apparently caused by repeated blows from an eight-pound

welder's jack.

In an unusual courtroom maneuver Wednesday morning, Deputy Public Defender

Dillon opened her defense case by calling Ranteesi as her first witness.

Clad in a crisply pressed white shirt and subdued necktie, Ranteesi slowly

described how his marriage fell apart after Milia, a correctional officer at the

Yolo County Jail, began an affair with a former jail inmate whom he believed to

be a former Iraqi soldier and personal bodyguard to Saddam Hussein.

Questioned by Dillon, Ranteesi said he learned of his wife's supposed infidelity

after a neighbor told him he had seen Milia and the man in a restaurant in 2001.

" She met an inmate ... she developed a relationship with him and said she loved

him and wanted a divorce, " Ranteesi testified, his voice choked with emotion.

Milia, he said, initially denied the relationship, but later told him about the

man.

" She told me he was Saddam Hussein's bodyguard and that he worked for the FBI, "

Ranteesi said. " I was scared ... He was an Iraqi soldier. He was a Muslim

terrorist. He was terrorizing my family. "

Further questioned by Dillon, Ranteesi said he talked to several people about

his marital problems but never said anything about killing his wife.

Ranteesi said he eventually sought help from his church pastor as well as from a

Vacaville physician, who prescribed the antidepressant Paxil.

" He told me 'This medicine will make you happy,' " Ranteesi recalled.

On Aug. 6, 2002 - the day of his estranged wife's death - Ranteesi said he

became involved in an argument with his daughter, Rachal, over a trip on which

she planned to visit her cousin and maternal aunt in Burlingame.

Ranteesi testified that he told the teen she couldn't go because she was needed

at home to look after her younger brothers while Ranteesi went to a dental

appointment and her elder brother took driving lessons.

At one point, while his daughter and he alternately packed and unpacked her

bags, Ranteesi said he talked to Milia by cell phone and that she agreed Rachal

should stay home.

Ranteesi said he took his daily dose of Paxil and then fell asleep briefly. He

later was awakened by his eldest son, Tony, who said that Milia was there.

He recalled going outside and seeing Rachal loading her luggage into Milia's

car.

An argument ensued and, at one point, Ranteesi took his estranged wife's cell

phone.

" My wife told Rachal to call the police ... I grabbed the cell phone and broke

it on the side of my truck. "

Moments later, Ranteesi said, " My wife came at me and she fell down on the

ground. Tony said 'Look at what you did.' I didn't know what I did. "

Cross-examined by Chief Deputy District Attorney on, Ranteesi

again denied ever having threatened to kill his estranged wife, despite

testimony from previous witnesses who said he had done so.

" I never mentioned killing my wife to anybody. That's a lie. I had no intention

to kill my wife, " Ranteesi testified.

Further questioned by on, Ranteesi denied having struck his wife or

throwing their infant son at her during a domestic dispute in 2001.

" That was a lie. She told me she wanted to put me in jail and she lied to the

police, " Ranteesi said.

Questioned by on about the day Milia died, Ranteesi said he didn't know

how she wound up on the ground.

'I don't remember. I lost it. I became totally insane. I don't remember hitting

her, " he testified. " I looked and I didn't realize what I did.'

The defense portion of the trial will resume at 9 a.m. Monday in the Vallejo

courtroom of Superior Court Judge Allan P. . At that time, Dillon is

expected to call several medical and psychiatric experts to testify about her

client.

Following rebuttal and closing arguments, the nine-man, three-woman jury could

begin deliberations in the case as early as Wednesday.

Ranteesi has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Hamlin can be reached at courts@....

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