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Damn, and to think I paid child support all those years needlessly when there was a simple solution.
LOS ANGELES — A father who had no interest in his 4-year-old daughter did the unimaginable — hurling her off a 120-foot cliff to avoid paying child support, a prosecutor said Monday during the man's murder retrial.
Cameron Brown, 47, was charged with one count of murder and the special cir stance allegations of murder while lying in wait and murder for financial gain in the death of Lauren Sarene Key in November 2000. Brown, a former American Airlines baggage handler, has pleaded not guilty and faces life in prison without parole if convicted.
Deputy District Attorney Craig Hum said during his opening statement that Brown killed Lauren because he didn't want to pay about $1,000 a month in child support.
Defense attorney Pat Harris countered that it was an accident when the girl fell from Inspiration Point in Rancho Palos Verdes.
Hum portrayed Brown as an uncaring father who tried to shirk his parental responsibility at nearly every turn. After Brown learned the girl's mother, Sarah Key-Marer, was pregnant with Lauren, he first wanted her to have an abortion and then sought a paternity test that eventually proved he was the father, Hum said.
"Does he show any interest in the child he fathered?" Hum asked. "Absolutely not."
Only when he was forced to pay child support did Brown finally see his daughter — about three years after she was born, Hum said, adding that the total number of hours Brown spent with his daughter during her life amounted to about two weeks.
Hum argued that Brown and Lauren went out to the cliff where nobody could see them, and he "hurled" her into the Pacific Ocean.
"This man picked up Lauren, whom he fathered but was never a father to, and threw her off a cliff into the water below," Hum said.
Brown, wearing a dark suit and a red tie, stared at Hum during his opening statement and showed no reaction.
Harris gave a different account of his client's relationship with his daughter, insisting the case was nothing more than "character assassination." He dismissed the prosecution's contention that it was a "good-versus-evil" struggle between Brown and Key-Marer.
"It was two parents trying to work out arrangements so they could have a happy child," Harris said.
Harris said Brown carried a picture of Lauren in his wallet, gave her gifts and toasted with his friends when he learned he would get visitation rights. Two weeks before her death, Brown filed court do ents seeking more visits with Lauren, Harris said.
"It doesn't make sense," he said.
The prosecution's first witness was Key-Marer, a British immigrant, who described her relationship with Brown as amicable but deteriorated during the child custody dispute after she said in court do ents that he was showing little interest in Lauren's life.
Key-Marer testified that her daughter wouldn't share what she did with Brown and Lauren was upset the day she died once she learned Brown would pick her up at school.
"She said, 'No, no I don't want to see him today,"' Key-Marer said. "She was crying and I had trouble getting her out of the car seat."
In a wrenching moment, Key-Marer said after talking to her daughter on the phone she decided to leave work early and pick up Lauren. But she soon learned that Brown had arrived early and she wouldn't be able to get there in time.
She described waiting for Lauren that night, looking out her window for her daughter and Brown to return. Distraught, she and her husband decided to notify authorities because they thought Brown may have kidnapped Lauren.
"We knew something really bad had happened," she said.
Key-Marer broke into tears when she recounted how a female police detective told her that her daughter had died.
"I remember hearing the words 'cliff' and 'Lauren was dead,"' Key-Marer said before court recessed for the day. "I just couldn't believe it."
Brown was tried three years ago, but a mistrial was declared after a jury deadlocked on the severity of the crime. Some jurors favored a first-degree murder conviction, while others voted for second-degree murder or manslaughter.
Both sides intend to call experts to give their opinions on how Lauren died. Jurors will also take a trip to the cliff to see where the alleged crime occurred.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,...est=latestnews
Damn, and to think I paid child support all those years needlessly when there was a simple solution.
You know, I completely understand wanting to give someone the benefit of doubt. But it would be over my dead body that he would be seeing my kid unsupervised. Total complete fail on the part of the adults in that poor child's life!
1,000 bucks a month? Jesus. Not trying to justify what he did, but god damn.
jesus
$1000 = Cheap by today's standards.
I'm putting my money on it was a accident.
what I always never understood about child support is that I thought it was originally intended to support a child of a SINGLE mother. If that mother then gets married shouldn't the child support stop?
Never mind the fact that these days that money that's supposed to be supporting the child is more often than not being used by the mother for her own personal gain.
I dont pay child support (dont have any kids) but just the thought that my hard earned money could be going to an ex-chics new husband pisses me off to no end.
$1000/month is a lot of money for child support.
What is bad is that in most cases, the money is spent on everything but the kid
$1,000 a month wouldn't even cover daycare center costs here, let alone any other necessities like food, clothing, shelter, medical . . .
It's not that much, really.
Bet this guy gets away with it.
Er, no.
It's in support of that child. The PARENT has a responsibility, the new spouse is not ethically or legally obligated to assume the expenses of the child because they formed a relationship with the parent (though they obviously will assume some expenses). Remarrying doesn't absolve the PARENT of the moral, ethical and legal responsibilities for the child and ensuring the child's welfare (often through providing appropriate financial support).
It might result in a reevaluation of the support that is paid and lower it, but not necessarily.
And again, I don't think you must know many people paying or receiving child support. Do you have any idea what it costs to raise a child? Between daycare, medical bills (insurance for the child alone, and then actual costs after insurance), clothing, food (just for the child - though of course, most families buy for family meals) and shelter (most kids need a room separate from their parents, automatically increasing the cost of rent or mortgage)?
It's actually pretty rare that a person pays hard-earned child support to keep the mother in diamonds and pedicures. I won't say it's never happened, but it's not the norm.
A 4-year-old should NOT be near a 120 ft. cliff.
That, in itself, is a crime...
Bet he won't - the argument at the mistrial was not his guilt, it was the severity of the charge. If it comes to it, I would wager the prosecution would settle for trying a lesser charge to get the conviction.
Sounds like the prosecutor over reached again. They are claiming 1st degree murder with no apparent proof...They could probably get a conviction on negligent manslaughter (letting a 4 year old go over the cliff) but from what is stated in this article they simply can't prove he threw her off.Cameron Brown, 47, was charged with one count of murder and the special cir stance allegations of murder while lying in wait and murder for financial gain in the death of Lauren Sarene Key in November 2000.
if you care about your child, there is no way that child gets anywhere near danger.
he's toast.
Kids die all the time in tragic accidents where the parents are negligent and or stupid...doesn't mean they charge them with first degree (premeditated) murder.
in a handbasket....
Now you know how I feel.
Another thing (hypothetically)............even if the new guy makes twice as much money as you do, you still have to pay child support. You know.......so your EX and her new hubby can buy a bigger house, new cars, jewelry and clothing. Oh yeah, and so your kids can eat top ramen and Mcdonalds for that month.
If that is the case, go to court and request a re-evaluation of the level of child support that is being paid, and request do entation about how the funds are being used (with receipted expenses).
There are ways to fight abuse of the system, but you have to do it.
Ohh, I know several people paying child support. And I know the people that money is going to as well. , I had 1 friend lose out on $18,000. The child had an injury, went to the hospital, while there he requested a paternity test (which the mother never allowed to happen before). Turns out it wasnt his. Not only that, another guy was also paying her child support as well FOR THE SAME CHILD!
I KNOW s expensive for kids but dont act like women who receive child support are using every last penny of it on the kid. To top it off your making it sound like the child support should pay for EVERYTHING and thats the problem with it, thats not what its intended for. Its support. The mother SHOULD pay some as well.
Neve rmind the fact that the child isnt going to be a baby forever and need daycare until the age of 18, and certainly wont need new clothes every damn month.
Face it, child support is ed up the way it is and a re-evaluation fails more often than not.
Touchy subject for everyone, probably, but I was a little kid whose father never paid child support. There was a lot (a lot) we went without because he didn't own up to his bare minimum responsibilities.
you spend the money in the courtroom upfront, on the best lawyer you can, and take custody of your children.
this ain't the 70's. if your the best fit parent, judges, although they'll always favor the mother, will give custody to the father if their case is made.
personally, i think joint custody and no child support either way is what should be the norm.
yeah, dont get me wrong, I just think the current system is broken. Nothing wrong with child support when its working as intended and not as a tool by some vindictive es out there just to stick it to their ex.
hath no fury...
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