Vista man convicted of first degree murder

A man was convicted Friday of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a young Vista mother who interrupted him during a burglary of her home four years ago.

Derlyn Ray Threats, a 28-year-old former Camp Pendleton Marine, faces the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole in the death of 24-year-old Carolyn Neville.

The penalty phase of the trial begins Monday, in which jurors will be asked to recommend one of those two sentences for Threats. The panel deliberated over parts of four days at the Vista Courthouse before convicting the defendant of first-degree murder, robbery and burglary, and finding true three special circumstance allegations; murder during a robbery, murder during a burglary and murder by torture.

In his closing argument, Deputy District Attorney Patrick Espinoza told the jury the evidence was overwhelming that Threats killed Neville on the morning of Sept. 1, 2005. The day Neville was slain started out with her dropping her 6-year-old son at school and returning home to do chores, Espinoza said. Because she had misplaced her house keys, the front door to the home was left open that morning, the prosecutor said.

Neville was doing laundry and had gone upstairs when she was attacked by Threats and pursued throughout her home, Espinoza said.

“She wanted to get away. She wanted to live another day,” the prosecutor told the jury. “And you know she was fighting for her life.”

Though injured, Neville was able to get outside, but Threats pulled her back in the house, locked the door and continued the attack for 20 minutes, Espinoza said.

“He exacted revenge on her,” the prosecutor said. “And it was violent. And it was bad. She still fought.”

Once back inside, Threats got a pair of hedge shears from the garage and, like “the worst of Hollywood horror films,” drove the shears through the victim’s head more than once, the prosecutor said.

“That’s cold and that’s calculated and that’s first-degree murder,” Espinoza said.

Neville had 70 separate wounds, including 47 to her head, face and neck, the prosecutor said. Most of the injuries happened while the victim was alive, a medical examiner testified.

Espinoza called the killing “sadistic — just a level of horror (with) unspeakable acts.”

Thanks to quick work by sheriff’s deputies, Threats was caught a short distance away, hunkered down by a nearby home, the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor said deputies found a broke hammer handle with the head missing, a stun gun, a pair of shoes and a handkerchief with the victim’s blood on it stuffed in the suspect’s sweat pants.

When caught, Threats was wearing bloody socks and a second pair of bloody socks — thought to be used as gloves during the attack on Neville, were also found, Espinoza said.

The prosecutor said the victim’s blood was splattered on Threats’ clothing, providing “damning, compelling evidence of guilt.”

A serrated knife — with Neville’s blood on it — was found in the path that Threats took to run from the victim’s home, the prosecutor said. Espinoza said neighbors had seen Threats earlier that morning casing the neighborhood looking for homes where he could steal video games.

The night before the killing, a friend said Threats was up all night playing video games. Once Threats killed Neville, he went back to loading video games into a suitcase he had taken from her laundry area, the prosecutor said.

Defense attorney James Weintre, in his closing argument, told the jury that a neighbor named “Tony” was the real killer. He said Threats was a peaceful and non-violent person who couldn’t have committed the murder. There were “too many questions left unanswered and too many things that
don’t make sense” for Threats to be found guilty, his attorney argued.

Weintre said someone else was seen and heard in the backyard of Neville’s home after the murder.

Witnesses saw a man with a large frame in the backyard, a description that fits “Tony” and not Threats, Weintre said.

Witnesses also heard demands from a man with a deep voice, and Threats has a high voice, he said.

The attorney said “Tony” killed the victim and left with the missing hammer head. Weintre said Threats slammed the door behind “Tony,” jumped out a window onto the roof and fell into the front yard.

The fact that Threats had blood on the back of his sweat clothes means “he had his back turned while Tony was attacking Miss Neville,” Weintre told the jury.

“Mr. Threats didn’t do this act,” Weintre said. “He didn’t have the intent. He didn’t even know her. Tony did the acts, not Mr. Threats.”

The attorney said his client got into a situation “he didn’t expect and he panicked.”

Espinoza said the defense tried to pin the murder on “Tony” because he is African-American, as is Threats. Investigators determined that “Tony” was sleeping when Neville was attacked and killed, the prosecutor said.

This story was written and edited by City News Service staff.

Tags: Camp Pendleton, carolyn neville, Derlyn Ray Threats, marine, SDNN

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