A Los Angeles jury on Friday found a man guilty of second-degree murder in the 2018 shooting death of a father who was camping with his young daughters, and of the attempted murders of the two girls, all at a popular state park in the Malibu area of southern California.
was one of a wave of mysterious shootings and raids in the area since 2016 that suspect Anthony Rauda was loaded In connection with.
Rauda, 46, fatally shot Tristan Beaudette in the head while the 35-year-old father, an Irvine chemist, was camping in a tent with his daughters on June 22, 2018, at Malibu Creek State Park, about 30 miles northwest of downtown. Los Angeles, the jury ruled.
While the jury also found Rauda guilty of one count of attempted murder for shooting into a vehicle four days before Beaudette’s murder, he was found not guilty on seven other counts of attempted murder in numerous other shootings.
However, the jury found him guilty of all five counts of theft he faced.
At the time, Beaudette’s murder, along with the revelation of the other mystery shootings, shook the surrounding community and closed the state park for nearly a year. He did it do not reopen to campers until May 2019.
The jury exonerated Speedy on one count of first-degree murder, but convicted him of the second-degree crime. He faces between 40 years and life in prison and will be sentenced next month.
A first degree murder conviction requires the government to show intent and premeditation. Second degree murder does not.
Beaudette’s daughters, then ages 2 and 4, were not injured but were considered victims of attempted murder. The jury convicted Rauda on the attempted murder charges related to the girls, but ruled that Rauda had not acted deliberately or with premeditation to kill them.
Speedy had waived his right to appear in court and was not present for Friday’s verdict. Prosecutors declined to comment on the result.
“I appreciate how careful the jury seems to have been,” Rauda’s attorney, Nicholas C. Okorocha, said after the verdict. “The jury did a good job of being careful and attentive to detail.”
While investigating the shooting death of Beaudette, and prior to Rauda’s arrest, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department revealed that there were at least seven other unsolved shootings in the area dating back to November 2016.
Rauda was arrested on October 10, 2018, almost four months after Beaudette’s murder, in a canyon near the park with a rifle in his backpack. Described by sheriff’s authorities as a “survivor” living outdoors, he was initially arrested in connection with several robberies in the area, before being charged with Beaudette’s murder and other shootings.
Rauda previously served time in state prison for possession of explosives and later for possession of a loaded weapon, which is illegal for people with felony convictions. He was on probation at the time of his arrest, authorities said.
Much of Malibu Creek State Park, which has served as the set for movies and TV shows like “MASH,” has been charred in wildfires.
