Closing arguments set in Palm Springs Transient’s muder trial

Closing arguments are scheduled today in the trial of a transient accused of stabbing a homeless woman to death in Palm Springs because he claimed she was threatening his life and the lives of other members of the
city’s homeless community.

Verne Raymond Orlop Jr., 54, is charged with first-degree murder and a sentence-enhancing knife-use allegation in the Feb. 21, 2015, death of 48-year-old Denee Salisbury, whose body was found in a lot northwest of East Mesquite Road and South Palm Canyon Drive. She had been stabbed once in the chest and once in the throat.

Her body was found just after 8 p.m. that night. A police search of the area that lasted into the following morning turned up Orlop, who was found near the scene of the killing with two knives and a garrote.

According to Deputy District Attorney Jacob Silva, after an officer briefly mentioned that they were investigating a stabbing, Orlop admitted to killing Salisbury and provided details that only the killer would know, including the number and locations of the stab wounds she suffered.

“This isn’t a whodunit,” Silva told the jury in his opening statement last week.

Orlop’s attorney, Dennette McIntyre, said that Salisbury had attacked and robbed Orlop, his girlfriend, and other transients in the past. She also described Salisbury as “extremely violent” and frequently under the
influence. Both attorneys agreed that Salisbury and Orlop each suffered from mental illnesses and addiction.

According to the prosecutor’s trial brief, Orlop told police that Salisbury had been “getting out of control lately,” and that he killed her to protect his girlfriend, who he claimed Salisbury had threatened. He also allegedly stated he killed Salisbury to prevent her “from killing other transient people in the area.”

Silva told jurors in his opening statement that Orlop called a Palm Springs police dispatcher about two weeks prior to Salisbury’s death and said that if police did not take her off the streets, he would kill her.

But McIntyre said her client had valid reasons to be afraid for his safety. “One person can only take so much and then the threat of violence becomes a very imminent danger,” said McIntyre, who described Orlop’s 911 call as more of a plea for help then a threat toward Salisbury.