The State - News from May 4, 1988

A Marin County banker’s appeal of his murder conviction for drowning a prostitute in his bathtub was rejected by the state Supreme Court. The court unanimously denied a hearing to Leslie Byrd, 41, who was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for second-degree murder. Byrd, a $72,000-a-year senior vice president and credit supervisor for Westamerica Bank in San Rafael, admitted killing Cynthia Engstrom, 19, in June, 1985, but said it was the result of a mental disorder. Byrd testified that he paid the woman $500 for bondage sex. After he tied her up, they had intercourse in his bathtub with the water running, he said, and when she started screaming he panicked, pushed her head under water and held it there. The 1st District Court of Appeal upheld the conviction, ruling that the trial judge properly limited defense psychiatric testimony. The Supreme Court let that ruling stand by rejecting Byrd’s appeal.