Linda Deutsch, AP Trial Writer Who Had Front Row to Courtroom History, Dies at 80
Linda Deutsch, a special correspondent for The Associated Press who for nearly 50 years, has died. She was 80.
Linda Deutsch, a special correspondent for The Associated Press who for nearly 50 years wrote glittering first drafts of history for many of the nation’s most significant criminal and civil trials — Charles Manson, O.J. Simpson, Michael Jackson, among many others — died Sunday. She was 80.
Deutsch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2022 and underwent successful treatment, but the cancer returned this summer. She died at her Los Angeles home, surrounded by family and friends, said nurse Narek Petrosian of Olympia Hospice Care.
One of America’s best-known trial reporters when she retired in 2015, Deutsch’s courts career began with the 1969 trial and conviction of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin, Sirhan Sirhan. She went on to cover a who’s who of criminal defendants — Manson, Simpson, Jackson, Patty Hearst, Phil Spector, the Menendez Brothers, “Night Stalker” Richard Ramirez, “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski and the police officers charged in the beating of motorist Rodney King.
She was in a Los Angeles courtroom in 1995 for the conclusion of “The Trial of the Century” that saw Simpson, an NFL Hall of Famer, acquitted of killing his ex-wife and her friend. Thirteen years later, Deutsch was in a Las Vegas courtroom when Simpson was convicted of kidnapping and robbery and sentenced to prison.
“When a big trial loomed, AP’s assignment editors didn’t have to ask who should get the assignment. No, the instant question was, ‘Is Linda available?’” recalled Louis D. Boccardi, who served as AP’s executive editor for a decade and as president and CEO for 18 years. “She mastered the art of celebrity trial coverage and, in the process, became something of a media celebrity herself.”
For decades, Deutsch covered every appeal and parole hearing of each convicted Manson Family member. Other historic moments included witnessing the 1976 conviction of Hearst, the newspaper heiress found guilty on bank robbery and other charges; the 2005 acquittal of Jackson on child molestation charges; and the 2009 murder conviction of Spector, the famed music producer.
“Linda was a fearless reporter who loved being on a big story — and she indeed covered some of the biggest,” said Julie Pace, AP’s executive editor and senior vice president. “She was a true trailblazer whose command of her beat and tireless work ethic made her an inspiration to so many journalists at the AP and across our industry.”
Her work, always written with verve, was not limited to celebrity — other trials involved fraud, conspiracy, environmental disasters and immigration — and eventually earned her the title of special correspondent, the most prestigious byline for an AP reporter.
Defense attorney Thomas Mesereau, who represented Jackson, called Deutsch “the epitome of ethics and professionalism in journalism.”
“I can’t think of anybody who rises to her level,” he said of Deutsch when she retired.