Marin County prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against three suspects charged with murders in Fairfax and San Francisco, District Attorney Ed Berberian announced Wednesday.
Instead, the three defendants will face a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole if they are convicted. The defendants — Morrison Haze Lampley, 23, Sean Michael Angold, 24, and Lila Scott Alligood, 18 — have pleaded not guilty.
Berberian said he consulted with the families of the two victims, Steve Carter and Audrey Carey, as well as the law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation.
“Ultimately, the final decision rests with the District Attorney and after careful review and evaluation, the decision not to seek death was determined to be the most appropriate prosecution path based on the facts and surrounding circumstances of this particular case,” Berberian wrote in a statement released Wednesday afternoon.
He did not elaborate on what factors guided the decision. The defendants are charged with two so-called special circumstances that would qualify them for the death penalty: lying in wait for the victims and committing murder during a robbery.
“We are grateful that the Marin District Attorney has chosen not seek the death penalty after their investigation of our client and the case,” David Brown, one of Lampley’s public defenders, said in an email. “This remains an extremely serious case, and we will continue to represent our client with dedication and in a way that is respectful to everyone involved.”
Mary Stearns, a lawyer for Angold, said, “This case is one where Sean Angold should not face the death penalty and we are pleased with the prosecution’s recent decision to not pursue that ultimate punishment.”
Carey, 23, was found dead on Oct. 3 in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. A resident of Quebec, Canada, she was on a backpacking trip to the United States when she was killed.
The killers stole Carey’s tent, a sleeping bag, a passport, airline tickets, camping equipment and a tarp, according to prosecution filings.
The alleged murder weapon, a Smith and Wesson handgun, was stolen from a car in the Fisherman’s Wharf area of San Francisco, police said.
Two days later, Carter, 67, was shot to death while walking his dog on a trail off Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in the Loma Alta Preserve near Fairfax. The dog, a Doberman Pinscher named Coco, was shot and survived.
The suspects then allegedly stole Carter’s car and headed north. They were arrested in Portland on Oct. 7 with the stolen car, Carey’s stolen property and the stolen gun allegedly used in the crime spree, authorities said.
The defendants are charged with first-degree murder, robbery, vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, animal cruelty and being in possession of property stolen from both victims.
Lampley, the alleged gunman in both deaths, faces additional charges of possessing a stolen gun and being a convicted felon with a gun. Prosecutors say he was convicted of possession of a stolen vehicle last May in San Diego County.
The defendants are being prosecuted in Marin Superior Court for both the Fairfax and the San Francisco homicides.
A preliminary hearing — the proceeding during which the judge will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to justify a trial on the charges — is scheduled to begin May 9 before Judge Kelly Simmons.
Carter, a yoga instructor and sex counselor, was living in San Geronimo with his wife Lokita. The couple, who had previously lived in Lake County and Costa Rica, moved to Marin so she could receive breast cancer treatments.