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A man from California has been found guilty after shooting his girlfriend’s family amid a heated argument over his karaoke equipment.
On April 30, a jury convicted Eric Otto White on three counts of first-degree murder for the 2020 slayings of his girlfriend, Kavina Madison Brooks, her identical sister, Kavona Brooks-Lee, and her brother-in-law, Kenneth Lee, as reported by KTLA.
With the sentencing phase starting on May 5, White now faces the possibility of either receiving a death sentence or spending life in prison for these tragic events.
Eric Otto White Killed His Girlfriend, 2 Other Family Members in 2020 Shooting
According to The Mercury News, White returned to his shared residence with Brooks at approximately 1:25 a.m. on August 16, 2020, armed with a firearm. The couple had been arguing the previous day, and shortly after White arrived, he shot and killed the three family members while injuring Brooks’ 14-year-old daughter, Zanorra Brooks Killebrew.
During the trial, Killebrew recounted that White was infuriated over Brooks’ approach to parenting and also upset about her handling of his karaoke speaker, as highlighted by the news source.
Tension between the two had been brewing for days after Brooks told White he could move out of the house and suggested she would find “someone else,” according to Killebrew’s testimony.
After the shootings, White fled to Las Vegas, according to a statement at the time from the Redlands Police Department.
San Bernardino County District Attorney Justin Crocker argued during the trial, per KTLA, that White made the decision “toward murder.”
“Once that decision is made,” he said, “it became shot after shot after shot.”
White’s attorney James Gass argued that the 63-year-old suffered from mental illness and had spent time in a psychiatric care facility. Although he was prescribed medication to treat the mental illnesses, he argued that White was not on his medication at the time of the shooting and had also suffered from head injuries during his lifetime that could have impaired his thinking.
Forensic and Clinical Psychologist John Matthew Fabian also testified, per KTLA, that White had schizophrenic affective disorder with a history of bipolar and depressive episodes.
Gass pushed for second-degree murder convictions, which would have carried a lesser sentence, according to The Mercury News.
When Will Eric Otto White Be Sentenced?
After the verdict was read, Brooks-Lee’s daughter Alicia Sutton described her reaction to the news outlet as “sad, but finally.”
Jurors will now be tasked with determining a sentencing recommendation. Superior Court Judge Cheryl C. Kersey will then choose to either take the jury’s recommendation or institute her own sentence, according to The Mercury News.