Defendant: Murder, Rape Victim Tied Up Repeatedly

A man who allegedly raped and killed a Temecula musician said he tied her up repeatedly in the days before he killing.

Mickey David Beauchamp Wagstaff, 27, of Pala, allegedly fatally raped and stabbed Elizabeth “Bipsy” Kellenbarger Amirian in a van in Feb. 2009 in the parking garage at the Promenade mall.

To read about how the killing allegedly happened, .

He appeared in court at the Southwest Justice Center today for the third day of testimony when the alleged rape was discussed.

A fight that led to the killing started between him and his fiancee, Amirian, the day before when their van broke down on Interstate 10, according to evidence made available today.

They drove to Palm Desert so Wagstaff could go to a business meeting, and on the way back, the van broke down, leading to an argument, Wagstaff told investigators, according to a transcript of the interrogation.

The couple argued about their upcoming wedding and it escalated into a physical fight, prosecutor Jennifer Garcia said today.

Wagstaff punched Amirian in the head at least once. In the period of time between that and the killing, he tied her up several times to stop her from leaving their van, according to the transcript.

"I tied her up before… off and on," he told an investigator, according to the transcript.

"Did she get off on that? I mean, did she like you tying her up?" asked an interrogator. Wagstaff replied, "No."

The investigator clarified the point with him. "Over the last few days, you were tying her up off and on so she wouldn't leave the van. Is that correct?"
"Correct," Wagstaff said.

Wagstaff also admitted to raping Amirian after she said she wanted to wait until they were married to have sex, according to the transcript. Genetic evidence found inside Amirian reinforced this story, a forensic specialist, David Wu, testified today.

He allegedly killed the victim when a sheriff's sergeant tapped on the window, according to law enforcement officials.

Wagstaff implied some kind of unseen force entered his body when he stabbed his fiancee, he said during an interrogation. To read about what he said,

He did not understand what he was doing, defense argued. To read about the defense's side of the story,