SAN DIEGO - A La Costa man accused of beating and slitting the neck of his on-again, off-again girlfriend -- a court reporter at the Vista courthouse -- pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a murder charge.
Jonathan Scott French, who was ordered held in lieu of $15 million bail, is accused of killing Jennifer Stark, a 43-year-old mother of two teenagers, on Friday night.
The 40-year-old defendant is due back in court on Sept. 15 for a readiness conference.
Pastor Gerald Johnson, speaking of behalf of Pastor Timothy Jones of Community Lutheran Church and Stark's family, read a statement to reporters after French's initial court appearance.
"We're saddened, beyond words, by the sudden, senseless loss of Jennifer in our lives and we're struggling with the feeling of betrayal by a man we came to know and appreciate. Many considered him a friend," the statement read.
"We're asking God for the strength to forgive him and praying that God will lead him to repentance for this horrific act, and that God would comfort his family, as well."
Kate Powers went to the courthouse for the arraignment of the alleged killer of her "dear, precious friend."
"We all loved her and we're all going to miss her," Kate Powers said outside the courtroom. "It's never going to be the same without her."
Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe said the case was moved to the downtown courthouse and assigned to retired Riverside County Judge Rodney Walker since Stark was well-known and loved by the judges she worked for.
Watanabe told Walker that French and Stark had been dating on and off for about three years and had broken up about a month before she was killed.
Stark told a friend that she was having dinner with French last Friday night "to make sure he was OK" with the breakup, the prosecutor said.
Stark and French were seen kissing at the West Bistro on Avenida Encinas near Cannon Road, and the victim appeared to be intoxicated, Watanabe told the judge.
Video surveillance footage showed the couple leaving the restaurant at 9:56 p.m. Her car was left in the parking lot, according to the prosecutor.
About 11 p.m., French -- a pharmaceutical supplies salesman -- called his ex-wife and said he needed to drop off their 10-year-old daughter, the prosecutor said.
When her father arrived at his home to pick up his daughter, she noticed blood smeared on a light switch, Watanabe said.
The defendant drove his daughter to her mother's house and told the child, "Don't believe what they are going to tell you about me," the prosecutor told the judge.
Earlier, French had told an ex-girlfriend, "I loved Jen and Jen had not been faithful," Watanabe said.
At 11:20 p.m., Stark's 15-year-old son came home and found his mother's bloodied body in the hallway of their home and called 911, Watanabe said.
Carlsbad police officers arrived and found the victim face-down on a rug. Her neck had been severely cut open, Watanabe said.
Further inspection of the body by detectives and a deputy medical examiner revealed a blackened, swollen eye, a broken nose, a blunt force injury to the forehead and a swollen lip, according a court document in support of bail filed by the prosecutor.
An autopsy revealed thyroid cartilage damage and hemorrhaging in the back of the neck, both consistent with strangulation, Watanabe wrote.
A 10- to 12-inch bloody kitchen knife was found under the rug in the hallway, Watanabe said.
At 4:18 a.m. Saturday, French used a pay phone outside the Encinitas sheriff's substation to call 911, Watanabe said. The defendant told the dispatcher to send deputies to arrest him.
Deputies noted cuts on French's wrists and a cut to his inner thigh, for which he needed treatment.
Inside the victim's dresser, detectives found a letter from French postmarked July 6, in which he acknowledged the dissolution of their relationship and described how he tried to believe it wasn't over, according to the court document.
French described how hard it was for him to let go and how he yearned for Stark daily, the court document states.
French had a prior domestic violence case from 1992 in Pensacola, Fla., in which he was accused of battering and trying to strangle a former girlfriend, but was not convicted, Watanabe said.
That woman said French was discharged from the Navy as a result, the prosecutor said.
The defendant also has a 2000 misdemeanor DUI conviction and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor disturbing the peace charge in 2005.
French faces 26 years to life in prison if convicted of murdering Stark.
