Last Updated: Thursday, July 12, 2001, 6:10 a.m.

Biological father recounts affair with Kristine Fitzhugh
Robert Brown's credibility questioned

by Bill D'Agostino

Palo Alto murder victim Kristine Fitzhugh's former lover testified in her husband's murder trial yesterday saying the two had a longtime affair that produced a son, Justin Fitzhugh.

Robert Brown told jurors in a packed Palo Alto courtroom that during a telephone conversation in December of 1999 or January of 2000, Kristine invited him to Justin's upcoming college graduation. She also told him that she planned to finally tell Justin the true identity of his biological father.

Kristine Fitzhugh was murdered in her home on May 5, 2000 ­ two weeks before Justin's graduation from the University of the Pacific in Stockton. Kristine's husband, Kenneth Fitzhugh, is on trial for the murder.

The prosecution is arguing that Kenneth Fitzhugh killed his wife of 33 years to bury the secret about Justin's paternity. Brown's testimony is essential to prove this theory, but his credibility was damaged in court.

On the stand, Brown admitted that he's a disbarred attorney with a criminal past (including a felony for auto theft). Also, his version of events during the trial often contradicted earlier statements he made to police and investigators.

In direct examination, Brown's recounted the entire history of his complicated relationship with the Fitzhugh family.

Robert Kenneth Brown met the married but still childless Kristine and Kenneth Fitzhugh in the late 1960s when both men worked for Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical in San Diego.