Psychologist: Zamora Was 'Depressed'

The former Naval Academy midshipman accused in a love-triangle slaying has been emotionally weak for years and was in a "dominant-submissive" relationship with her ex-boyfriend, who's also charged, a psychologist testified Thursday.

Dr. Michael Lobb said Diane Zamora was depressed and had thought about suicide, mentioning mutilating herself with scalpels, hypodermic needles and medication.

Lobb, testifying for the defense, didn't say whether those things were true before her romantic rival, 16-year-old Adrianne Jones, was shot at an isolated lake in December 1995.

Ms. Zamora's ex-fiance, former Air Force Academy cadet David Graham, dominated and manipulated her during a relationship that began while they were in high school, Lobb said under questioning by Ms. Zamora's attorney, John Linebarger.

The testimony was meant to boost defense claims that Ms. Zamora, 20, was emotionally dependent on Graham, but under cross-examination by a prosecutor, Lobb seemed to portray Ms. Zamora as erratic and said her profile fit that of a "classic criminal."

Lobb called Ms. Zamora "a combination of someone who is psychopathically deviant and paranoid. The (testing) would indicate someone who has different views than the normal person in society ... Angry, resentful and argumentative would be a fair characterization."

Lobb agreed with prosecutor Sylvia Mandel that Ms. Zamora tended to "externalize blame for anger."

"Do you mean they could blame another person for something that has gone wrong in their lives?" Ms. Mandel asked.

"Yes," Lobb responded.

The psychologist said he based his opinion on letters between the couple, as well as interviews with each. He read the jury excerpts from letters Graham wrote from jail to Ms. Zamora:

"You are MINE so don't let anyone else near you," Graham wrote. "You are supposed to follow my rules as I follow yours."

Among the rules Graham outlined for Ms. Zamora were: "If anyone either male or female hugs or kisses you, deck them," and "write at least 30 pages a week."

Graham pleaded with her not to tell authorities what happened the night Miss Jones was killed.

"My lawyer costs more than O.J.'s. If I can ignore mine you can ignore yours," one letter said. "If we both have to spend 10 years in prison, that would be better than you going free and me having to spend 40 years."

Defense attorneys, who rested their case after Lobb testified, said Graham killed Miss Jones without Ms. Zamora's help because his one night stand with the teen-ager threatened their relationship.

Earlier this week, Ms. Zamora testified that Graham sexually abused her. She blamed Graham, 20, for the killing and said she tried to protect him by making her confession conform to his.

Ms. Zamora said she tried to retract her confession but police wouldn't let her. In the cnfession, she said she had urged Graham to kill the girl and had taken part in the slaying.

She faces life in prison if convicted. Graham will be tried later this year and also faces life.

Written by Chris Newton
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