A former sailor told a jury on Oct. 13 he stabbed a Navy cook to death whom he says sexually attacked him at knifepoint in 1990 in the man’s Point Loma home.

Brian Scott Koehl, now 52, spoke about the 1990 incident for the first time publicly since being charged with murder in 2022 in the death of Larry Joe Breen, 32, who was stationed aboard the USS Fox.

Breen was found covered in blood and without clothing in the backyard of his apartment at the corner of Nimitz Boulevard and Locust Street. He was stabbed in the neck.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Kimberlee Lagotta is expected to instruct the 12 jurors and three alternates this week after attorneys deliver closing arguments. There are 11 men and four women among the jury and alternates.

Koehl told the jury he was 19 years old at the time and was flattered that Breen showed an interest in socializing with him because Koehl was a new recruit, an E-1, and he had “no one to talk to.” He said Breen took him to a La Jolla beach and had dinner with him at Horton Plaza and other places.

Koehl told his attorney, Alicia Freeze, he never suspected Breen was gay because it was made clear in the Navy that “there was zero tolerance – you cannot be gay.”

“I don’t have a problem with people being gay,” said Koehl, who described Breen as having a rank of “an E-5 who wanted to spend time with me. I thought it was cool.”

Koehl said he and Breen shared some beers and he remembered waking up to discover Breen was orally copulating with him. “I got mad and kicked him off,” he said, tearfully, adding he was surprised to discover he was naked, as was Breen.

“I kept trying to stand up. He either pushed me down or tackled me,” said Koehl. “I was terrified. I was confused.

“I saw the knife in his hand. My terror rose to another level. I grabbed for his wrist. I felt he was going to kill me,” said Koehl. “I threw my body into him. I stabbed him. It haunts me to this day. I didn’t want to do it.

“His eyes were so big, so animalistic, the sound he made if you could imagine the widest eyes possible,” said Koehl.

“He was fighting like a wounded animal. He was constantly reaching for the knife,” said Koehl. “I remember the final stab – that last stab, he quit attacking me. He went to the ground.”

Koehl was shown the bloody photos of the room where Breen jumped out of a glass window to escape from him and Koehl acknowledged struggling with him out the same window.

He recalled taking a shower to wash all the blood off, which explains why his footprints were recovered by police technicians and preserved. Koehl acknowledged he also cut himself with the knife in several places, which led to his arrest after his DNA was found in preserved blood samples.

Deputy District Attorney Lisa Fox displayed Koehl’s wrestling pictures from high school and college when she started her cross-examination. Koehl acknowledged he was a wrestler for six years and “it may have saved my life,” adding “I didn’t use my wrestling skills. I used survival skills.”

“Did you leave with the knife?” asked Fox.

“No, I don’t believe I did,” replied Koehl.

The prosecutor asked him to describe the knife, but Koehl said he could not. Fox asked him if he disposed of trash in the apartment, as there was no trash found, but he said no.

Fox asked Koehl why was his DNA found on the inside of one of Breen’s socks, T-shirt, and pants waistband, but Koehl said he had no explanation. The prosecutor asked him if was he forced to drink alcohol, and he said no.

Fox also asked Koehl if he could think of a reason why his stenciled underwear was found in Breen’s Navy locker. Koehl said there might have been a clothing mix-up when he went swimming with him once in La Jolla.

Koehl told the prosecutor he was sure he never told his best man from his wedding that he stabbed Breen 19 times. The best man, Douglas Jones, testified last week that Koehl made a spontaneous admission to having killed a man who made a sexual pass at him, but Koehl said he didn’t say it like that.

Koehl admitted to driving Breen’s grey Totota to the Coronado base where he lived because he didn’t know how else to get back there. He said he went to return the car the next day but saw a number of San Diego police cars in the area, so he left it a mile away.

Fox showed Koehl a bloody photo of the victim and asked him if he aimed for the jugular vein, which was severed. “I did not aim for the jugular vein. I was still in fear for my life,” Koehl replied.

“I have great remorse for Larry losing his life, but I didn’t have a choice,” said Koehl. “I did what I did and I owned what I did today.”

Koehl’s wife of 26 years, Elizabeth Koehl, testified on Oct. 19 and said she was shocked when he was arrested and did not believe the charges.

“He was always the peacemaker. He was very against bullying,” said Elizabeth Koehl, adding he was never violent, was truthful, and was trustworthy.

Her husband was discharged honorably from the Navy in 1997 and they live in Tennessee with children. He remains free on a $500,000 bond.

The prosecutor asked her why her husband “never told you the truth about what happened in Mr. Breen’s apartment.” She answered, “No, but I can see why.”

Fox played a recorded conversation of the couple talking for the first time after Koehl was arrested. Koehl said to his wife: “I was 19 years old. We had a little party. I walked into a murder.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” asked Elizabeth Koehl in the recording.

His wife said her husband’s explanation was that it was “traumatic and he blocked it out.” She also said he ran into “a weirdo and he pushed him away.”

Also testifying was Dr. Michael Epstein, a clinical psychologist who interviewed Brian Koehl for 12 hours and performed six hours of psychiatric tests on him.

Epstein said Brian Koehl’s version of events shows he is “truthful and honest” in discussing the homicide, but had a lot of trouble recalling the incident 33 years ago.