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Murder Defendant: Man Had 'Evil' Look

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By TODD LESKANIC

tleskanic@tampatrib.com

Published: February 19, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - Linda Callam took the stand Wednesday and told jurors of a harrowing fight she had with boyfriend Paul Pullins on March 29, 2007.

"I saw him, and he looked through me," Callam said. "It was terrifying. The way he looked, I didn't even know who he was. He looked like a wild man, evil."

Callam, 58, said she stood against her kitchen cabinets. As her boyfriend of 23 years approached, she grabbed a knife and plunged it deep into his chest.

Pullins, 51, died the same day in the emergency room of St. Joseph's Hospital.

"I just wanted him to stop," Callam testified. "I didn't want to kill him. I just wanted him to stop."

Callam is on trial in Pasco Circuit Court, charged with second-degree murder. She faces a life prison sentence if convicted of the charge. Her attorneys have mounted a staunch defense, arguing that she stabbed Pullins in self-defense; pictures taken shortly after the slaying show Callam's battered body.

Jurors will hear closing arguments this morning and are expected to begin deliberations immediately after. In addition to second-degree murder, they'll consider the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Prosecutors argue that Callam wasn't in a fight when she stabbed Pullins. The state's key witness, Corey Burleigh, was a part-time resident of the couple's Windel Street home in New Port Richey.
Burleigh said he and Pullins were arguing about a bad cocaine deal when Callam came into the kitchen and stabbed Pullins with an 8-inch butcher knife. He said Pullins pulled the knife out of the wound, stumbled outside and sat down in a lawn chair.

The stabbing followed a long day of drinking and drug use by Callam, Pullins and Burleigh. Burleigh testified that the couple argued consistently and had bickered that day, but he gave no indication Pullins was attacking Callam when she stabbed him.

Friends, coworkers and Callam's son, Larry Aylor, testified they saw Callam with bruises and injuries on several occasions. Several of her coworkers said she always wore long sleeves to her job as a roofer, even when it was hot.

Testimony that could help the state includes Callam's statement that she had thrown a knife at Pullins the day before the stabbing. Callam also reportedly told investigators that she thought of killing Pullins after he attacked her a few weeks earlier.

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (727) 815-1084.

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