SLAIN WOMAN'S MOTHER QUESTIONS HAHN'S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RECORD.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

A Thousand Oaks woman campaigning for Los Angeles city attorney candidate Ted Stein said Wednesday that a decision by City Attorney James Hahn's office set free a domestic abuse suspect who then killed her daughter in 1993.

Martha Farwell - whose daughter, Sara Weir, was raped and murdered - joined Stein at a news conference Wednesday to challenge Hahn's claim that he is tough on domestic violence.

A week before the murder, her daughter's killer was released on an unrelated domestic abuse case as part of a no-jail plea bargain that Hahn's office approved.

``Domestic violence has never been treated by the City Attorney's Office with the seriousness it deserves, despite the city attorney's rhetoric,'' Farwell said.

Added Stein, ``Sara Weir could well be alive today if the perpetrators of domestic violence went to jail, which they should.''

Hahn, who is running against Encino attorney Stein in Tuesday's election, said in a statement that he felt ``terrible'' about Weir's death. But he said the Los Angeles police failed to give his office the proper information about the case, prompting it to be prosecuted as if it was a first-time offense.

``Putting an end to domestic violence is a top priority for me and for the attorneys in this office,'' Hahn said.

Hahn denounced Stein for employing what he called ``despicable'' tactics by trying to exploit the tragedy for political advantage.

Farwell and Stein's criticism of Hahn centers on how the office handled the case of Douglas Oliver Kelly, who was arrested Aug. 31, 1993, for beating and choking a former girlfriend until she was unconscious.

The day after the attack, a deputy city attorney approved a plea bargain with Kelly that resulted in no additional jail time beyond what he had served after his arrest. Kelly also was ordered to serve two years' probation, six months of domestic violence classes and 13 days of community service on a state Department of Transportation crew.

Within a week of his release, Kelly raped, strangled and stabbed to death Weir, a 19-year-old Warner Bros. production assistant who Kelly had befriended at a Burbank gym.

Farwell said Hahn's office should have sought jail time for Kelly for beating up his former girlfriend.

``Over and over again I have asked myself - how could a prosecuting attorney look at these facts alone, the facts of Kelly's attack on (his former girlfriend) and fail to see how dangerous Kelly was?'' Farwell said.

Hahn said the Los Angeles Police Department failed to provide evidence of previous rape charges against Kelly because he used a false birth certificate when he was arrested. ``Had the police uncovered Kelly's prior record, this case would have been handled differently,'' Hahn said, saying that ultimately a judge decides the severity of the sentence.

Stein said he believes there was sufficient evidence against Kelly when he beat his girlfriend to warrant jail time. He said he would seek ``significant jail time'' in domestic violence cases if elected.

Kelly was sentenced to death in 1995 for the Weir killing.