Killer of 3 in Family Is Sentenced to Die

A tearful Edward Charles III, slumped in his courtroom seat Friday, said he takes full responsibility for the brutal killing of his parents and younger brother four years ago in the family’s Fullerton home, but he offered no explanations.

“I died the same night as everybody else,” he said at his sentencing in Orange County Superior Court. “My family was a loving and caring family.”

Judge William R. Froeberg, unmoved by the emotional display, formally sentenced Charles to death, capping a legal drama that involved four juries.

Two juries couldn’t agree on a sentence, and the death penalty voted by a third was thrown out because of jury misconduct. Last October, a fourth jury recommended death for Charles. His case is believed to be the first in the state in which a defendant faced the death sentence in four penalty phases.

The 26-year-old was convicted in 1996 for the murders two years earlier of his father, Edward Charles Jr., 55, a Hughes Aircraft engineer; his mother, Dolores, 47; and his brother, Danny, 20.

None of Charles’ relatives who had attended trial proceedings were present in the Santa Ana courtroom Friday. A woman identified as his brother’s fiancee wept through the proceedings; she later declined to talk to reporters.

Charles, dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit and flanked by his two attorneys, looked down as he addressed the court.

“For the last four years, sitting here, I’ve tried to find a reasonable explanation to explain why we are sitting here,” he said. “I don’t even have the words to make up for something like this. The words are not big enough.”

According to evidence presented at the trial, the victims and Charles’ grandfather, Bernard Severino, gathered for dinner on Nov. 6, 1994. After dinner, Charles stabbed and bludgeoned his brother to death and stuffed him in the trunk of a family car.

He later strangled his mother and killed his father with a hammer. The bodies were found in a burning car in a La Mirada high school field the next day. Severino testified that his grandson asked him to take the blame for the murders because he was old and Charles still had his life ahead of him.

Deputy Dist. Atty. David Brent said he was disappointed that Charles has never explained why he went on the rampage.

Though the motive isn’t clear, Brent has speculated that Charles either had financial motives--gaining his parents’ Sunny Hills house and life insurance proceeds--or was jealous of his brother, a USC music student and promising opera singer.

During the trial, Brent also suggested that Charles, a college dropout working as a mechanic, felt rejected by his parents, who did not approve of his lifestyle or his girlfriend at the time.

On Friday, Charles said he was sorry and ashamed of himself.

“My mom was a real good lady,” he said, choking back tears. “I miss her, and I want her back. . . . My dad tried to teach both his sons right from wrong. . . . I could have really used his guidance on a lot of things, and I turned my back on him. My brother, Danny, had a gift. He brought joy with his voice. A lot of people loved him. I loved him. I miss him more than words can say.”

But Brent was not swayed by Charles’ show of remorse.

“I wish he’d simply said, ‘Yes, I killed them,’ ” Brent said. “I think people change; I don’t think this guy has changed.”