Psychologist’s
testimony questioned

The defense says the accused
was distressed when he
killed his wife

By Linda Hosek
Star-Bulletin

Tyra Delacruz knew that her former husband, James Kendrick, planned to marry a Slovakian stripper who wanted him only to get a green card.

She testified yesterday that she didn't tell Kendrick, on trial for killing the woman after they wed, because she didn't want to break his heart.

Delacruz, who described herself as an exotic dancer who has a son by Kendrick, recalled the moment in which she learned Nika Hulejova wanted to use Kendrick for money and a visa to remain in the country.

"We were in the bathroom trying on each other's clothes, and she was trying to explain why she was getting married," she said. "Because I knew she wasn't doing it for love."

The state has accused Kendrick, 50, of murder for intentionally or knowingly killing Hulejova, 21, with a bullet to the back of her head Nov. 4, 1995, at their Marco Polo condominium.

Deputy Prosecutor Randy Oyama has said that Kendrick abused and threatened Hulejova, a stripper who also was a student. He said the unemployed Kendrick knew Hulejova was about to leave him and straddled her with a cocked, loaded gun.

But Myles Breiner, Kendrick's attorney, said Kendrick didn't intend to kill Hulejova. He said Kendrick, who knew that his wife had other relationships, suffered from extreme emotional distress, making him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Xanya Sofra-Weiss, a clinical psychologist hired by the defense, testified yesterday that Kendrick's emotional distress stemmed from anxiety over a series of stressful events.

She said the events included unemployment, homelessness and the knowledge that his wife was having affairs.

She said he was emotionally distressed for about a year before the incident but that his distress escalated in the months before he shot her.

Harold Hall, also a psychologist, testified for the state, saying Sofra-Weiss' assessment was flawed.

He said she failed to adequately determine if Kendrick were malingering or deceitful in his answers to her.

Hall also said that she didn't adequately address the impact of Kendrick's use of heroin on his anxiety.

"If a person is addicted to a chemical, it's going to make them feel anxious," he said, adding that the most powerful influence has to be considered.

He also questioned how said she addressed the causes of Kendrick's loss of self-control.

Hall concluded that her analysis didn't show with a reasonable degree of psychological certainty that Kendrick suffered from emotional distress at the time of the incident.

Sofra-Weiss will return to the stand today in the trial before Circuit Judge Michael Town.

In other testimony by Delacruz, she said that Kendrick loved Hulejova and that Hulejova never mentioned anything about threats or violence from Kendrick.

She also said that Kendrick would buy her anything and that "she led him around."

Under cross-examination, Delacruz said she didn't know anything about Kendrick's assets, even though they had been married.