Bail Set in Chain Saw Murder

Bail for a former Cal State Fresno professor accused of murdering a male prostitute and hacking up his body with a rented chain saw in a West Hollywood apartment was set at $500,000 today.

Superior Court Judge John H. Reid agreed to set bail for Max Bernard Franc, 58, charged with the Aug. 20 murder of Tracy Leroy Nute, 17, whose body was dismembered with a chain saw and scattered across California. Deputy Public Defender Mark Kaiserman argued today that bail should be set at $50,000 because Franc no longer faces special circumstance allegations of committing a murder in the course of a robbery or committing an especially heinous crime.