| For Immediate Release May 2, 2007 |
Contact: Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 |
JURY CONVICTS 60-YEAR-OLD MAN FOR MURDERING
HIS OLDER BROTHER AND SISTER-IN-LAW AFTER
THEY TOLD HIM TO MOVE OUT OF THEIR HOME
SANTA ANA – A 60-year-old Victorville man was convicted by a jury on charges that he murdered his brother and his sister-in-law while living with them in their La Habra home. Alfred Renteria was convicted of a second degree murder of his brother and first degree murder of his sister-in-law with enhancements for committing multiple murders and the personal discharge of a firearm causing death. He faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Renteria will be sentenced on Friday, June 6, 2007, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-41, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
On April 7, 2005, Renteria shot and murdered 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 to move out, the defendant attempted to convince the couple to let him stay, while 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 shot his brother in the back of the head with a firearm as the victim sat on the couch watching television. He then shot his sister-in-law in the bathroom, and dragged her murdered body into the bedroom. Renteria lived in the home for four days after the murder with the bodies still in the house.
When the defendant finally left the home, he stole 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.