| For Immediate Release April 20, 2007 |
Contact: Farrah Emami
|
60-YEAR-OLD MAN FACES TRIAL FOR MURDERING
HIS OLDER BROTHER AND SISTER-IN-LAW WHEN
THEY TOLD HIM TO MOVE OUT OF THEIR HOME
SANTA ANA – The trial of a 60-year-old Victorville man will begin today on charges that he murdered his brother and his sister-in-law while living with them in their La Habra home. Alfred Renteria is charged with two felony counts of murder with enhancements for committing multiple murders and the personal discharge of a firearm causing death. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Opening statements are expected to begin Monday, April 23, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. in Department C-41, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
On April 7, 2005, Renteria is accused of shooting and murdering his 71-year-old brother, James Renteria, and his 67-year-old sister-in-law, Bernice Renteria, with whom he had been living for three months. The victims were suffering from various medical conditions and allowed the defendant to live with them in exchange for care and assistance as they got older. When the victims told the defendant that he needed to move out, the defendant is accused of trying to convince the couple to let him stay, and recording his mounting anger and hatred for them in a journal.
After being frustrated by failing to convince his brother to let him continue living in the home, the defendant is accused of taking a gun and shooting his brother in the back of the head as the victim sat on the couch watching television. He is accused of then shooting his sister-in-law in the bathroom, and dragging her murdered body into the bedroom. Renteria is accused of continuing to live in the home for four days after the murder with the bodies still in the house.
When the defendant finally left the home, he is accused of stealing the victim’s credit cards, checkbooks, and other personal items. He was later arrested after being caught using his brother’s credit card to check in to a Best Western in Nye County, Nevada.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Steve McGreevy of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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