Man accused of killing 2 at SLO County beach testifies he ‘didn’t have a choice’

The voices in Stephen Deflaun’s head were ramping up in the month before he allegedly killed two people at a San Luis Obispo County beach in 2001, leaving him in “a place of despair,” the murder defendant testified in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Wednesday.

Prosecutors say Deflaun killed San Pedro man Stephen Wells, 37, and his 11-year-old nephew, Jerry Rios, Jr., at Morro Strand State Beach on July 8, 2001.

A defense attorney told jurors that Deflaun was not at fault because the voices in his head told him that killing Wells and his nephew was the only way Deflaun would survive being assassinated.

Deflaun was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2004 and was not expected to ever stand trial. He was deemed competent to stand trial in April 2022, however — more than 20 years after he was first arrested.

Deflaun faces two counts of murder with a firearm and one count of assaulting a peace officer with a firearm. In June, he pled not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity to the charges.

On Wednesday, Deflaun took the witness stand for a second day and spoke about the events leading up to the fatal July 2001 shootout.

Murder defendant bought gun because he ‘had enemies everywhere’

A major factor during questioning on Wednesday was Deflaun’s mental state leading up to and during the shooting.

Deflaun testified that he bought the revolver used in the alleged crime in 1989 while living in Denver because he was “afraid he would be tortured and murdered by other people.”

“I thought I might end up in a fight with someone,” Deflaun said.

When purchasing his gun, he also got a speed loader, in order “to make it easier” when he needed to reload, he said.

“I had enemies everywhere,” Deflaun said.

Deflaun used his gun almost every day when he first bought it and would practice with a pellet air pistol, he testified. He said he had “no special training” with the gun, and it was not registered with the police department.

In the month before the July 2001 shooting, Deflaun kept the gun loaded and on the floor near his bed, he testified Wednesday.

During that month, he said, the voices in his head were telling him he would be kidnapped and murdered.

Stephen Deflaun says he moved around to avoid ‘the program’

During cross examination Wednesday, Deputy District Attorney Eric Dobroth questioned Deflaun on his whereabouts in the months prior to the shooting.

Deflaun said he had been living out of his van since 1986 and would travel to different locations for new places to live. This was in part because he was “concerned about ‘the program’ ” — what he called the voices in his head.

At one point, Deflaun began to board up his windows and put fencing around him so a boulder couldn’t go through, he testified.

Deflaun also put silver bubble insulation up to protect himself from “the program,” he said.

In 2001, Deflaun traveled to a number of campsites along the California coast. When he found most of them had a “full” sign, including spots in Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz, it made him feel uneasy, Deflaun said on Wednesday.

The defendant was planning on going to Sacramento at the time, he testified, but decided not to because he recalled there being a heat wave at the time. So he continued south, he said.

That’s how Deflaun came to Morro Strand State Beach.

Defendant was in ‘place of despair’ due to voices in head

On July 8, 2001, Deflaun testified he left San Simeon and headed to Morro Strand State Beach.

Deflaun said he arrived at Site 1 and had an altercation with a park ranger there. He thought the ranger had deliberately told him the wrong location where he could park his camper because they were plotting against him, Deflaun testified.

“I’ve experienced discrimination many times because of ‘the program,’ ” Deflaun said Wednesday.

Deflaun testified that he eventually went to Site A, where his spot was, and then went to the grocery store to get water, beer and a newspaper.

Back at the campsite, he said, he was hearing voices and in a “place of despair.”

“I felt the surf on the beach was against me,” Deflaun said. He felt the wind along the roof and the traffic along the road were against him as well.

“It was the worst day of my life,” he said.

In the span of two hours, Deflaun drank a 12-pack of beer, something that was not unusual for him at the time, he said.

Sometime after, Wells — who was staying at the campground with his wife, Betsy Wells, her three children and their nephew in a recreational vehicle — confronted Deflaun at his van when he yelled at the kids.

Deflaun said he “gave Wells the finger.”

“Something I would never do,” Deflaun said, noting he was “very drunk.”

During his testimony, Deflaun added he did not recall yelling at Rio Jr. and his 11-year-old cousin Brian Wells.

The heated conversation ended with Stephen Wells telling Deflaun he was going to report him to the park rangers, Deflaun said.

Murder defendant says voices told him to shoot at SLO County beach

After the altercation with Wells, Deflaun testified, “Everybody in the world” saw him put his gun in his waistband, lock his van door and head toward the California State Parks ranger kiosk.

At first he wanted Wells to kill him, he said.

Deflaun testified he “knew” Wells was a “federal agent asshole” sent by the program to kill him.

Deflaun said he approached the kiosk, turned the corner and was face to face with Wells, who moved. Deflaun said he interpreted this as Wells being a “federal agent assassin,” and “got scared.”

The defendant then fired one round, he said.

Deflaun said the second and third rounds he fired were in Wells’ direction and hit the man’s bicep and kneecap. While shooting a fourth round, Deflaun said, he recalled seeing someone to his left.

“My heart was literally in my mouth,” Deflaun said.

The defendant said he made his way around the kiosk and heard the voices warn him about what would happen if he didn’t shoot.

They told him he would be put on an “iron lawn and suffocate,” Deflaun said.

He said he let his arm hang by his side as he looked straight ahead and shot at both Rios Jr. and Wells again.

“I just pulled the gun and went ‘bang,’” Deflaun said.

He did not look for the final two shots because he “was afraid of a ricochet,” Deflaun said, adding that he “doesn’t like violence.”

Deflaun said he then saw Brian Wells run for cover toward the RV where he and his family were staying.

“Something in my mind told me ‘weapon,’ ” Deflaun testified.

According to Deflaun, he ran to the RV and asked if Betsy Wells if she had any weapons inside.

Wells said, “No, but don’t hurt my children,” Deflaun recalled.

A State Parks ranger then showed up and pulled out a shotgun from his vehicle, Deflaun said.

At the time, Deflaun was not clear who he was, he said.

“It could have been an assassin, it could have been a park ranger,” Deflaun said. “I wanted him to shoot me ... I wanted him to kill me.”

Deflaun said he then put his gun at waist level and pushed it forward to get the ranger to shoot him. During his testimony, Deflaun said he did not shoot at the ranger because the voices did not tell him to.

The first time the ranger asked him to drop his weapon, Deflaun remembered saying, “No f---ing way.” The second time, he complied because it “seemed like the right thing to do,” he said.

When he was arrested, Deflaun said he tried to “deflect anger,” fearing he would be killed after killing “the others.”

Defendant claims he ‘didn’t have a choice’ in shooting

During Dobroth’s cross examination, Deflaun elaborated on “the program,” saying the voices happened 24/7 and projected his thoughts to other people.

Deflaun said the voices spoke to him in code: When he heard “federal agent,” it meant the person was sent by “the program,” while if the voices said “shotgun,” it meant he “would be kidnapped and murdered.”

The voices threatened to kidnap and torture him one month before the shooting, Deflaun testified.

“They were going to kill me,” he said of the voices. “It wouldn’t leave me alone.”

Ultimately, killing Wells and Rios Jr. “was the lesser of two evils,” he said.

“I didn’t have a choice,” Deflaun said.

The trial is expected to resume Thursday at 11 a.m. with more testimony from the defense.