Murder Trial Begins 2 Years After Bloody Killing in Novato

The mother of a 29-year-old Novato woman killed two years ago said she was pleased at how well the first day went at the murder trial of her daughter’s estranged boyfriend.

“People said I looked more serene and peaceful than during the prelim,” Claudia Stevens said Tuesday after Day 1 of James Raphael Mitchell’s murder trial in Marin County Superior Court in San Rafael.

“I do feel more peaceful. I feel like I have Danielle’s purse and bracelet with me, and I pray to my daughter and tell her, ‘It’s all ending now.’”

Stevens is expected to testify Wednesday during the trial, one day after a prosecutor told the jury that Mitchell, a pornography business heir, killed his former girlfriend on July 12, 2009, in Novato by beating her to death with a baseball bat outside her home as she held their 1-year-old daughter.

Danielle Keller, 29, was killed on the evening of her daughter's first birthday.

Deputy district attorneys Leon Kousharian and Charles Cacciatore began their case against Mitchell by playing a recording of a 911 call to Novato police that came in at about 7 p.m. that day. A neighbor told the police dispatcher her husband came to Keller's aid but that Keller was already dead from severe head wounds. She told the dispatcher the attacker had fled with the child.

“That call is very very spine-chilling,” Stevens said. “I was able to maintain (composure).”

Mitchell, 29, of Pittsburg, is the son of adult filmmaker Jim Mitchell, of Mitchell Brothers fame. Jim Mitchell and his brother Artie Mitchell were kingpins in San Francisco’s porn scene for decades. Jim shot Artie to death in 1991 and died in 2007.

James Raphael Mitchell is charged with murder, kidnapping, child abduction, child endangerment, stalking, and murder during a kidnapping.

Stevens said she was impressed with the prosecution’s first day.

“I felt like Leon and Charles did a fabulous job,” she said. “I think they were thorough, gave the facts as evidence and that the jury understood everything. … I was very happy with the opening argument Leon made and how he said he will present the case — that James went there to murder Danielle.

“Today, just to hear what Leon put together, was worth the wait.”

Mitchell’s attorney, Stuart Hanlon, told the jury his client did not go to Keller's house at 3 Diablo Court, across the street from Hill Middle School, intending to kill her or to kidnap their daughter.

"He was there and he will explain what happened. There is no anger. He was just begging for her to love him and let him see the baby on her birthday. There was no intent to kill," Hanlon said.

An Amber alert was issued that night and a statewide manhunt ensued. Mitchell surrendered to police in Citrus Heights when his car ran out of gas, Kousharian said.

Dots of Keller's blood were found on the little girl's face, Kousharian said.

"She was under or near her mom when she was beaten," Kousharian said.

DNA tests determined that blood splatters found on Mitchell's  pants and shoes were Keller's, and that a bloody bat found two feet from Keller's body had a fingerprint from Mitchell's left index finger, Kousharian said.

Kousharian told the jury there were two restraining orders against Mitchell, one in San Francisco and one in Marin, prohibiting him from coming within 100 yards of Keller, who had custody of the child.

Mitchell had previously violated the restraining orders on June 26, 2009, Kousharian said.

The trial is taking place before Marin County Superior Court Judge Kelly Simmons. 

— Bay City News Service contributed to this report.