Witness Rejects Singer’s Motive

Aspiring pop singer Jennifer Childs and her mother were pleased with a music contract negotiated for the Simi Valley teen and had no desire to break the agreement, a music industry manager testified Monday.

The 19-year-old and her mother, Eileen Childs, 37, are accused of setting fire to the mattress of the teen’s stepfather, Larry Childs, and beating him with baseball bats in an attempted murder.

Prosecutors contend the two conspired to kill Larry Childs, 57, to cash in on $1.4 million in life insurance to buy out the singer’s music contract and allow her mother to take over as her manager.

But Torrance-based manager Alan Gaffere testified Monday that Jennifer and Eileen Childs were involved in crafting the binding contract with him and appeared pleased with the results.

Gaffere said the teenager, who records under the name Jenni Childs, has a Web site and a demo CD being circulated that received a positive review from a music magazine.

“Eileen was very much involved in the negotiation,” Gaffere told jurors, though he added that after the compact disc was recorded, Eileen Childs became less involved. “She told me she doesn’t want to get in the way.”

Gaffere testified that his collaboration with Jennifer Childs has been positive and he believes she shows promise as a recording artist.

Under questioning by Deputy Dist. Atty. Lisa Lee, Gaffere acknowledged that he is eager to see his client cleared of wrongdoing so she can return to work.

Gaffere testified that he has canceled 25 performances during the last five months because the teen remains jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Defense lawyer Jean Farley, who represents Jennifer Childs, has requested a bail hearing this week.

On Friday, the public defender told Ventura County Superior Court Judge Herbert Curtis that she would take responsibility for the girl, letting her stay in Farley’s home and driving her to court each day.

Defense lawyers for the mother and daughter say the pair are innocent and called the prosecution’s theory about a motive preposterous.

Farley told jurors in her opening statement that the two women acted in self-defense after Larry Childs grabbed them by the hair and dragged them across the room when a mattress in the family’s master bedroom caught fire.

Testimony is scheduled to resume today.