Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 16, 2006 12:33:03 GMT -5
No death penalty in Schockner case
Courts: Conspirators face life in alleged murder-for-hire
By Wendy Thomas Russell, Staff writer
Long Beach Press Telegram
LONG BEACH - A Bixby Knolls man will be spared the death penalty if convicted in the murder-for-hire plot of his estranged wife two years ago, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office has announced.
Manfred Schockner, 66, will now face a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, as will his two alleged co-conspirators, Nicholas Harvey, 24, and Frankie Jaramillo, 31.
The Special Circumstances Committee, a group of 12 deputy district attorneys, rendered the decision this week after weighing the case's aggravating and mitigating circumstances - including the level of violence used, the defendants' prior records and other extenuating circumstances.
But the committee does not disclose the specific reasons behind any decision, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.
Schockner is accused of plotting to kill his 50-year-old wife, Lynn, with whom he had a son. According to prosecutors, Schockner paid Jaramillo to hire a hit man - Harvey - to kill Lynn Schockner and make it look like a botched robbery. All three men were charged with murder for financial gain and murder during the commission of a burglary or robbery - charges that made each of them eligible for the death penalty.
The case gained national attention when it was learned that two Long Beach police officers were posted at the victim's front door at the moment her throat was being slashed on the back porch.
Investigating a prowler call, the officers spoke to the victim and were waiting for her to retrieve a key to her back gate. She never returned, and the officers entered the home and found her dead.
Harvey, of Port Hueneme, was arrested within minutes, his clothes covered in blood, police said.
Schockner allegedly arranged the killing, using Jaramillo as the go-between, after learning that his wife had retained a divorce attorney. He stood to lose about $2.5 million in the dissolution of his 24-year marriage, police said.
The three men are scheduled to appear back in court for a pretrial hearing on Tuesday.
Wendy Thomas Russell can be reached at (562) 499-1271 or at wendy.russell@presstelegram.com.
Courts: Conspirators face life in alleged murder-for-hire
By Wendy Thomas Russell, Staff writer
Long Beach Press Telegram
LONG BEACH - A Bixby Knolls man will be spared the death penalty if convicted in the murder-for-hire plot of his estranged wife two years ago, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office has announced.
Manfred Schockner, 66, will now face a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, as will his two alleged co-conspirators, Nicholas Harvey, 24, and Frankie Jaramillo, 31.
The Special Circumstances Committee, a group of 12 deputy district attorneys, rendered the decision this week after weighing the case's aggravating and mitigating circumstances - including the level of violence used, the defendants' prior records and other extenuating circumstances.
But the committee does not disclose the specific reasons behind any decision, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.
Schockner is accused of plotting to kill his 50-year-old wife, Lynn, with whom he had a son. According to prosecutors, Schockner paid Jaramillo to hire a hit man - Harvey - to kill Lynn Schockner and make it look like a botched robbery. All three men were charged with murder for financial gain and murder during the commission of a burglary or robbery - charges that made each of them eligible for the death penalty.
The case gained national attention when it was learned that two Long Beach police officers were posted at the victim's front door at the moment her throat was being slashed on the back porch.
Investigating a prowler call, the officers spoke to the victim and were waiting for her to retrieve a key to her back gate. She never returned, and the officers entered the home and found her dead.
Harvey, of Port Hueneme, was arrested within minutes, his clothes covered in blood, police said.
Schockner allegedly arranged the killing, using Jaramillo as the go-between, after learning that his wife had retained a divorce attorney. He stood to lose about $2.5 million in the dissolution of his 24-year marriage, police said.
The three men are scheduled to appear back in court for a pretrial hearing on Tuesday.
Wendy Thomas Russell can be reached at (562) 499-1271 or at wendy.russell@presstelegram.com.