Recently in Murder / Manslaughter Category

Clarence Butterfield has been accused of murdering his 21-year-old daughter and stuffing her in the freezer of his motor home, which has led to his indictment on count of murder during torture and mayhem and one count of assault with a firearm.

But perhaps this murder case is all just one big misunderstanding. KTLA News reports that opening arguments in the case began this week, where defense attorney Lisa Eyanson says that the man loved his daughter and kept the girl's body in the freezer for two years because he couldn't bear to part with her. The attorney argued that Clarence Butterfield, of San Clemente, thought that he could revive his daughter by putting her in the freezer since the Bible reportedly says that a person can be resurrected with faith.

A Los Angeles criminal defense attorney doesn't always have to cost the defendant a great deal of money. Lonnie Franklin, who has been accused of being the "Grim Sleeper" serial killer was appointed a new attorney in a Los Angeles courtroom yesterday, who says that she will work for free.

KTLA News reports that the new lawyer is Louisa Pensanti has had experience handling multiple murder cases and has agreed to work pro bono on the Grim Sleeper case. As we reported in an earlier blog post, Lonnie Franklin's arraignment has been postponed until August 23. The man has been charged with 10 counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

The Oakland BART officer that was charged with second degree murder for the killing of Oscar Grant on New Year's Day 2009 was instead convicted of the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter last week.

CNN reports that the Los Angeles jury's verdict in the Johannes Mehserle trial has brought out a lot of mixed emotions throughout the state of California. On one hand Californians are happy to see that the man will be spending time in prison for his actions, but some people are angry that the man wasn't convicted of the more severe second degree murder charge.

While Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys are anxiously waiting to hear the verdict in the racially charged murder trial of former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle, it looks like they'll have to wait a little bit longer because the jury deliberations are starting from scratch today.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that jurors in the high-profile murder case deliberated for more than two hours last week without reaching a verdict. Jury deliberations were supposed to resume yesterday, but were postponed because of a sick juror. Another juror is leaving on vacation today, so an alternate will be taking that juror's place and the whole process will have to start over.

Will the murder trial of Andrew Gallo move out of Orange County? This is the question that many Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys  have on their minds. The man, who has been accused of killing  Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart, might be hated by some in the OC community, but does that mean it's impossible to find an impartial jury?

The Orange County Register reports that prosecutors have argued in a court brief that it would be possible to find impartial local jurors in Orange County and that a change of venue in this case does not meet the legal requirement of establishing that local jurors cannot be impartial. Defense attorneys disagree and have filed a motion to move Andrew Gallo's trial outside the OC.

Angel Sosa should seriously thank his Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer, as the 17-year-old boy was aquitted earlier this month of fatally shooting a man and his 12-year-old son at a high school graduation party. Associated Press reports that the defendant, who was just 15 years of age at the time of the shooting, was being tried as an adult for two murder charges.

Prosecutors said that witnesses identified Angel Sosa as the gunman who fired into a crowd of party guests during a dispute in Montebello. However, Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Jeri Polen argued that there was reasonable doubt that the defendant was not the shooter. The lawyer told the jury that more than a dozen witnesses could not identify Angel Sosa as the gunman or picked somebody else other than Angel Sosa when they were shown a photo lineup by Montebello detectives.

The doctor who has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson has an assigned court date for August 23, although Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys, prosecutors, and Judge Michael Pastor have all agreed that the August date might be delayed as the case progresses.

Reuters reports that the defendant Conrad Murray and his lawyers appeared in court on Monday, where Judge Michael Pastor ruled that the doctor could keep his California medical license. The judge said that he did not have the authority to suspend Conrad Murray's license because a previous judge had already issued a ruling saying that he could practice medicine as long as he did not issue sedatives. The Los Angeles Superior Court Judge said that if California officials wanted to pursue the matter further, they could appeal his ruling.