Man who killed California father camping with daughters in state park gets 119 years in prison
A man convicted last month in the shooting death of a father who was camping with his daughters at a Southern California park was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison.
A jury found Anthony Rauda guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Tristan Beaudette and of the attempted murders of the two young girls.
Rauda fatally shot Beaudette in the head while the 35-year-old father camped in a tent with his daughters on June 18, 2018 in Malibu Creek State Park, roughly 30 miles west of downtown Los Angeles.
He was taken into custody in late 2018 in a ravine near the park with a rifle in his backpack.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said Rauda was sentenced to a total of 119 years to life. Rauda's attorney, Nicholas C. Okorocha, declined to comment on Wednesday's sentencing but said he appreciated the "deeply moving" victim impact statement delivered by Beaudette's wife, Erica.
Beaudette's daughters, then ages 2 and 4, were not injured in the shooting but were considered victims of attempted murder. The jury convicted Rauda on the counts related to the girls but ruled that Rauda had not acted willfully to kill them or with premeditation.
Prosecutors say Rauda terrorized the area since November 2016, when he wounded a man who was sleeping in a hammock in the Malibu State Park area, CBS Los Angeles reported.
Rauda faced eight additional counts of attempted murder and five counts of burglary in a rash of shootings and break-ins. He was found not guilty in seven of the attempted murder counts.
Jurors found him guilty of the burglary charges, as well as attempted murder for deliberately shooting at a man driving to a movie set just days before Beaudette's killing. The driver was not injured.
Authorities described Rauda -- dubbed the "Malibu Sniper" -- as a survivalist who lived off stolen food while often sleeping outside in the Malibu area, CBS Los Angeles reported. He was arrested in October on suspicion of burglary after authorities spotted him on a ridge top carrying a rifle in his backpack.
At the time, Beaudette's slaying — coupled with the revelation of the other mysterious shootings — rattled the surrounding community and shuttered the state park for nearly a year. It did not reopen to campers until May 2019.
Much of the park, which has served as a set for movies and TV shows such as "M.A.S.H.," has been charred in wildfires.
Rauda previously served time in state prison for possessing explosives and later for possessing a loaded gun, which is illegal for people with felony convictions. He was on probation at the time of his arrest, authorities said.