Alleged Killer Was Active in Murrieta Church

A man who allegedly raped and killed his girlfriend at the Promenade mall in Temecula was a youth leader in a Murrieta church, friends and family testified today.

Mickey David Beauchamp Wagstaff, 27, is on trial for allegedly raping and stabbing to death his fiancee, 27-year-old Elizabeth "Bipsy" Kellenbarger Amirian, in a parking structure at the mall.

To read about what allegedly happened,

The defendant was an active member of Murrieta Springs Seventh-day Adventist Christian Church and a "youth leader," testified Wagstaff's twin brother, Landon Wagstaff, today at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley.

Almost all his friends went to his Seventh-day Adventist church, and he and his brother spent a lot of time putting together lesson plans for younger church goers, the brother testified.

"We're best friends, we're twins, we've had the best relationship for the longest time. I love my brother," he said.

Meeting the victim

The twins met Amirian, a former Calvary Chapel Bible College student, together at a coffee house where she was performing. Amirian was popular in the Temecula music scene for her Tori Amos-inspired piano playing and singing.

"We were impressed with how she played and the things she sang about," Landon Wagstaff said.

When Mickey Wagstaff started dating Amirian, things changed, according to his brother's testimony.

"He was more secretive. It would take a lot to get information out of him," Landon Wagstaff said.

Things changed

Several friends also noticed a change in Wagstaff.

He attended church very regularly and was very religious, said Scott Hunter, a friend from his church. "He'd stop (during hikes) and say, 'We need to pray. We need to pray.'"

A few months before the killing, Wagstaff and Amirian stopped attending the church.

Deborah Sherman, another friend from church, called Wagstaff two days before the killing to see whether anything was wrong, she testified today. "We know there might have been some hard times," she said.

The change was sudden, according to Michael Ghilarducci, another friend from church. "It was a clear line. They were there (at the church) every sabbath, and then they weren't," he said during testimony today.

Erratic behavior at work

A few days before the killing, Wagstaff showed up late to work and left early despite the boss' request to talk, testified David Liesenfelt, who employed the defendant.

"That was completely out of character for Mickey," he said today.

Amirian changed too as her relationship with Wagstaff went on, he said.

He described her style as contemporary and liberal, with tattoos and colored hair. Over time, she grew more conservative and traditional, and she even started hiding her tattoos.

"Her attire changed, her hair style changed," she said.

When he killed Amirian, he was in touch with an unseen force, he implied during an interrogation. To read about what he said,

Witness also implied there may be no evidence outside the defendant's testimony that he raped the victim. To read about the evidence,