Man Wrongly Accused Of Killing Mother, Brother Will Get $700K Settlement In Brea
BREA (CBSLA.com) — A man wrongly accused of murdering his mother and brother will get a $700,000 settlement from the Brea Police Department.
Randy Paige, reporting for CBS2, said Eder Herrera was accused of fatally stabbing his mother and brother in 2011 one day after they were found murdered in their Yorba Linda home.
The real killer was Herrera's high school friend, Itzcoatl Ocampo, a confessed serial killer who later admitted to fatally stabbing four homeless men.
On Friday, Hererra relived the moment when Brea Police pulled him over and demanded he exit his vehicle "or you will be shot."
"I honestly thought I was going to be convicted," he told Paige.
Herrera spoke to Paige Friday, not long after learning Brea police agreed to settle his lawsuit out of court for $700,000. The settlement relates to his arrest and three-month incarceration.
He called what Ocampo did, "the ultimate betrayal." Ocampo stabbed Herrera's 53-year-old mother 30 times and his 34-year-old brother more than 60 times.
"Immediately, he provided an alibi," said Herrera's attorney, John Burton. "That alibi was confirmed with receipts, surveillance video later on, cellphone records. There's simply no conceivable way he could have perpetrated this crime."
He said police failed to investigate properly and never narrowed in on other suspects.
"There were combat-boot prints all over the crime scene, very distinctive caterpillar boot prints, and they also had a key piece of evidence, which is Ocampo placing the 911 call that led the police to the location. They had Ocampo's voice on tape."
Burton says Ocampo's distinctive voice could have easily cleared Herrera and that, moreover, Herrera would have been able to identify Ocampo if he had heard the 911 call.
"This kind of brazen violation of constitutional rights not only impacts the victim such as Eder Herrera but also leaves perpetrators out to continue their crimes as it did here and led to the death of four innocent people," Burton said.
Brea police declined an on-camera interview but said in a written statement that they agreed to the settlement because a trial could have exceeded that amount. In reaching the settlement, the city of Brea admitted no guilt or liability.
Herrera is looking forward.
"I want to go back to school, distract myself, meet new people," he said. He also said his one goal in life was to make his mother proud.
