Vitale Suspect's Mother Arrested

As Scott Dyleski appeared in court, the investigation into the brutal murder of Pamela Vitale widened.

Dyleski's mother was arrested as an accessory to the crime and booked on $500,000 bail, reports Hattie Kauffman.

Well-known defense attorney and television commentator Daniel Horowitz found his wife on Oct. 15, bludgeoned and stabbed near the home they were building in the posh San Francisco suburb of Lafayette, Calif.

In court, Dyleski's hair was combed back. He looked nothing like the goth figure photographed earlier.

He didn't enter a plea at the brief hearing to the first-degree murder charge he faces.

In addition to the surprise of his mother's arrest, observes Kauffman, startling information emerged from court documents.

Sheriff's department search warrants show that, after Dyleski allegedly committed murder, he joined his girlfriend at a friend's house.

Then, according to the documents, they announced they were going to her house to have sex.

Star attorney Gloria Alred says she's representing a potential witness, widely believed to be Dyleski's girlfriend.

"She has a right," Alred says, "to have her reputation protected. …I have reason to believe that my client is a potential witness."

Alred, Kauffman points out, represented Amber Fry, the girlfriend whose testimony helped send Scott Peterson to death row.

Horowitz received national notoriety for his commentary during Peterson's double-murder trial.

The search warrant documents, Kauffman adds, identify Dyleski's mother as Esther Fielding, and say she told detectives that, "Scott knew he was in trouble over credit cards."

Dyleski will be back in court for arraignment in two weeks. No timetable set yet for his mother.