From The Lewiston (ID) Tribune, of Friday, May 18, 1990:

Brando's son admits shooting

Associated Press - Los Angeles - Marlon Brando's eldest son told police he shot and killed his pregnant sister's boyfriend in a fit of rage because the man had beaten her, investigators said Thursday.

Christian Brando, 32, was arrested in the actor's palatial Santa Monica mountains estate Wednesday night, and booked for investigation of murder, said Lt. Ron Hall. He was held without bail pending arraignment today.

"He admitted to the shooting," the lieutenant said.

Dag Drollet, 26, died instantly from a .45-caliber bullet to the head, police said.

Marlon Brando, 66, made a 911 emergency call to police at about 10:45 p.m. to report a shooting inside his estate, police said. Only one shot was fired.

"The dispute was over the victim's treatment of Cheyenne Brando, Marlon Brando's 20-year-old daughter," Hall said. "There were allegations that there was physical abuse, a beating. there was an argument and he became angry."

Tarita Cheyenne is the daughter of Brando and his current wife, Tarita Teriipia, a Tahitian actor who played his love in the 1962 "Mutiny on the Bounty".

Drollet's body was found in what was described as an entertainment room. Hall said Christian Brando was alone with Drollet when the shooting occured.

Drollet was a family friend from Tahiti who had been a house guest for 10 days.

"There was no indication there had been a physical altercation prior to the shooting," said Detective Steve Osti.

Christian Brando will plead innocent, a Brando associate said. Christian is the son of the actor and his first wife, Anna Kashfi. The couple divorced in 1960. There was little know about his adult years, other than he has worked as a tree surgeon and recently as a welder.

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From The (Oxnard CA) Press-Courier, of Saturday, May 19, 1990:

Brando son's plea innocent

Los Angeles (AP) - A glum, unshaven Christian Brando, the son of actor Marlon Brando, sat silently in court Friday as his lawyers entered an innocent plea to first-degree murder in the shooting death of his pregnant half-sister's boyfriend.

The 32-year-old Brando, handcuffed and clad in a gray shirt and jeans, spoke only twice to say "yes" when asked if he understood his right to a speedy preliminary hearing and whether he was willing to wait that right.

Los Angeles Court Municipal Judge Rosemary Shumsky ordered Brando held without bail, denying an urgent plea, from his attorneys that a bail hearing be held immediately.

The prosecutor said he wasn't ready to argue bail, and the judge agreed to hold the hearing Tuesday. She set a preliminary hearing scheduling date for June 11.

Famed civil rights lawyer William Kunstler apeared at Brando's side along with two other attorneys, but Kunstler left the legal arguments to local lawyer Dan Stormer.

The innocent plea on behalf of the self-employed artist and welder also covered other felonies: possession of a machine gun, and a silencer that were found after the Wednesday night shooting in the den of Marlon Brando's mountaintop home on Mullholland Drive. Those weapons weren't used in the shooting, authorities said.

Christian Brando was charged with the death of Dag Drollet, 26, a guest in the brando home and the son of an official in the Tahitian capital, Papeete.

Drollet reportedly was the father of 20-year-old Tarita Cheyenne Brando's unborn child. Police said the shooting apparently was sparked by an argument over Drollet's treatment of Miss Brando. They said there were allegations the young woman had been beaten by Drollet.

Brando, who sat in the jury box looking down at the floor through most of the hearing, had his handcuffs removed briefly for the proceeding, but they were clamped back on his wrists as he was taken from the courtroom.

Outside the courtroom, Kunstler said he discovered from the police report that "apparently there was an accidental firing of a gun."

"There was a struggle, a confrontation over the alleged beating of his sister, and a gun went off. This is not murder by any means," Kunstler said.

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From The Lodi (CA) News-Sentinel, of Wednesday, May 23, 1990:

Brando's kid denied bail

Los Angeles (UPI) - With a grim-faced Marlon Brando looking on, a judge ordered the actor's son held without bail Tuesday in the shooting death of his half-sister's Tahitian boyfriend.

Wearing jailhouse blues, Christian Brando, 32, who had been held since his arrest last week in the slaying at his father's mountaintop estate, sat expressionless in the courtroom as his lawyers beseeched the judge to free him. His father and other members of the family sat nearby.

The lawyers, insisting he is no threat to the community, hoped to obtain Christian's release pending trial, but West Los Angeles Municipal Court Judge Rosemary Shumsky denied the bail motion and ordered Brando returned to court June 11 to schedule a preliminary hearing.

The defense presented 18 declarations of support on Brando's behalf, including one from actor Jack Nicholson, who lives in one of the three houses in a complex that includes Marlon Brando's home.

One of Christian Brando's lawyers, Dan Stormer, said the declarations described the defendant as "reliable, sensitive, caring, responsible, and hard-working."

But prosecutors said they believe Brando might flee if released.

Along with first-degree murder, Brando is charged with one count each of possession of a machine gun and possession of a silencer.

Brando allegedly shot and killed Dag Drollet, the boyfriend of his 20-year-old half-sister, Cheyenne Brando, in the den of Marlon Brando's 12-room house in the Santa Monica Mountains last Wednesday night. Drollet died of a gunshot wound to his head and neck.

If convicted of murder, Brando would face a state prison term of 25 years to life. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.

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From The (Oxnard CA) Press-Courier, of Saturday, May 26, 1990:

Brando funds autopsy on victim in slaying

Los Angeles (AP) - A former chief pathologist of New York City, hired by actor Marlon Brando, performed an indiependent autopsy Friday on the body of the man Brando's son is accused of killing, a county coroner official said.

Christian Brando, 32, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Dag Drollet, 26, who was found shot to death at the actor's exclusive estate on May 16.

The results of the six-hour autopsy were not released.

"I don't have any particulars," said David Campbell, a supervisor in the county coroner's office. "There was a second examination performed on the body of Mr. Drollet. It was performed by Dr. Michael Baden. The coroner's office was directed by the court to allow it," he said.

The defense claims the shooting was an accident that occurred during an argument over Drollet's treatment of Cheyenne Brando, sister of Christian Brando, and daughter of the Oscar-winning actor.

Dr. Baden told the syndicated television show, "Hard Copy" that Marlon Brando hired him to perform a second autopsy because he was not satisfied with the autopsy done by the county coroner's office.

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