Suspect sought in high-profile killing

So far, police have released little information regarding the investigation.
MARTINEZ, Calif. (AP) -- On a scenic hillside near San Francisco, criminal defense attorney Daniel Horowitz and his wife were building their dream home on a site swarming with contractors.
It was there that Horowitz said he found his wife slain on Saturday night.
Authorities have yet to disclose a motive in Pamela Vitale's slaying and refused Monday to say what direction the investigation had taken. But one of Horowitz's colleagues said the killing appeared to have nothing to do with any of Horowitz's clients, who included drug dealers, murderers and other hardened criminals.
Neighbors told the San Francisco Chronicle that the property was so busy with contractors that the couple left a note explaining how to use the coded keypad to open their security gate. Court documents indicate they had also feuded bitterly with a neighbor over his attack dog and his alleged drug use.
Lawyer and longtime friend Ivan Golde said Monday that police were closer to solving the case, but authorities said those remarks were premature.
"There is a potential suspect, but it's not a former client," Golde said outside the courtroom where he and Horowitz were defending a woman in a closely watched murder case. A judge declared a mistrial in the case Monday because of the news coverage of Vitale's slaying.
An autopsy Monday revealed that Vitale was beaten to death, Contra Costa County sheriff's spokesman Jimmy Lee said.
Problems with neighbor
As construction on their home progressed, the couple feuded with Joseph Lynch. Lynch had sold Horowitz and his wife an adjoining four-acre lot where he had a deal to live for 10 more years in a camper.
Horowitz sought a restraining order against Lynch in June, but it was not granted. In a court filing, Horowitz accused Lynch of "creating misery at Hunsaker Canyon Road," and said he was "using methamphetamine and drinking heavily and during these periods he is delusional, threatening, violent and dangerous."
"He has become almost evil," Horowitz wrote.
Lynch, 54, said he often had an amicable relationship with the couple but also acknowledged to The Associated Press that there had been friction over the years.
Lynch said the request for the restraining order probably stemmed from "when I was driving through their property trying to get to the back ranch. I was speeding. I'm kind of a reckless driver."
Lynch said his attack dog once lunged at Horowitz. Police were called, and Lynch said he got rid of the dog.
Lynch said he was on the property the day Vitale was found dead. He said he spent the day walking his German shepherd and was building a door for the dog when he heard sirens and squealing tires and began getting calls from concerned neighbors.
Lynch and Horowitz had both been cooperative when questioned by authorities, Lee said.
Horowitz's lawyer, Robert Massi, said Horowitz was not a suspect and that he has an alibi for the hours before his wife was found. Horowitz had breakfast Saturday with Massi then spent the afternoon working with colleagues on his latest murder case before returning home and finding his wife about 6 p.m., Massi said.
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