"Woman cleared of smuggling"

By Gil Bailey, P-I Reporter

A U.S. District Court jury has found Beverly Guy, a King County Superior Court reporter, innocent of smuggling diamonds from South Africa hidden in her bra through customs at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

“The prosecution didn’t prove its case,” said Charles Dunsire, jury foreman, after the verdict Wednesday.

The trial was the second for Guy, who was retried after the first jury was unable to reach a verdict in March.

The defendant on hearing the verdict of innocent from the 11-man, one woman jury lowered her head and gasped in relief.

The verdict found Miss guy innocent of bringing diamonds into the country illegally, hiding the diamonds after she smuggled them into this country, and lying to customs agents.

Guy testified at the first trial and a padded bra was entered into evidence. At the second trial she did not testify nor was the bra shown to the jury.

The charges resulted form an investigation of a California triple murder. Guy was questioned about her relations with Dennis Boyd Miller, 46, accused in California of the murders of Giovanni Schoeman, his girlfriend Kimberly Roberts, and business partner, Cornelius Moll.

Guy was a friend of Miller although police have said she has no link to the murders.

While being quested about her knowledge of Miller’s activities, Guy’s relationship with Carl Edward Zehner came to light, according to prosecutors.

The prosecutors claimed guy smuggled the diamonds in for Zahner.

Zehner did not testify at the trial. He was the owner of a Federal Way hypnosis parlor, closed after the murders were discovered at Santa Barbara.

A closed-door preliminary hearing is now under way in California on the murder charges. The murder of Schoeman, a South African sculptor, and the others, has been linked by authorities to a diamond smuggling operation.