San Diego Men Found Guilty of Robbing and Murdering their Grandmother
Two San Diego Men were convicted of first degree murder along with other charges.
29 year-old Brandon Hayes and 22 year-old Jeffery Carl Reed were convicted Tuesday for robbing and strangling their grandmother in her mobile home. Both men were charged and found guilty of first-degree murder along with two special circumstance allegations of murder committed in the course of a robbery and burglary branching from the death of 73 year-old Eunice Cothron. No date has been set for sentencing yet but the two men are looking at life in prison without the possibility of parole. The jury read their verdicts Monday afternoon after starting the deliberations Friday. Linda Allen, Cothron’s niece said after the verdict was read “we now have justice and go on with closure”.
According to Prosecutor Kurt Mechals, Cothron’s body was discovered by her son who is also Hayes’ father, Allen, and that she had bruises on her arms, lacerations to her neck and had blunt force injuries to her head face and neck. The prosecution argued that the defendant, Hayes, had strangled the victim after she had acquired a restraining order against him. Mechals also argued that “these are two drug-addicted individuals who, in our theory, wanted money and they knew where to get it. The prosecution explained to the jury that Cothron sympathized with Hayes and would give him money and do his chores when the rest of his family had disowned him because of he constantly stole from them.
Bart Sheela, Hayes’ San Diego Criminal Defense Lawyer, didn’t argue that Hayes killed his grandmother however he argued on the reason for why he did it. According to Sheela, Hayes killed his grandma and robbed her because she told him she did not have her birth certificate and was not guilty of murder because his intention was not to rob her.
2 Men Guilty Of Robbing, Murdering Grandmother, 10news.com, August 23, 2011
Grandson, friend guilty in murder of elderly woman, fox5sandiego.com, August 23, 2011
If you have been arrested and charged with a crime in San Diego County, trust your case to an experienced San Diego criminal lawyer. Victor A. Orsatti at the San Diego Law Center will explain all of your legal options during a free consultation.
