A California man is expected to spend his life behind bars for the murder of a classmate he believed was responsible for his expulsion from high school, reports Law & Crime.
Owen Skyler Shover, 23, from Hesperia, killed 16-year-old Aranda Isabel Briones in January 2019 and buried her in the nearby San Bernardino Mountains, but her body has never been found. Recently, a jury found Shover guilty of first-degree murder with special circumstances. Under Golden State law, special circumstances are factors that can make a person’s sentence tougher.
On January 13, 2019, two of Aranda’s friends saw her get into his car, and her blood was later discovered in the trunk of Shover’s car. The two were former friends at Moreno Valley High School. On November 7, 2017, they were at a park with some other students instead of in class. Shover was carrying a small handgun with him that day. When a truancy officer approached, he threw the gun to Briones and told her to hide it.
In a panic, she tossed the gun into a drainage canal and got caught. When questioned, she admitted the gun was Shover’s. Both were expelled in February 2018. On January 12, 2019, Shover asked Briones to meet again, and they met at Bayside Park the next day. Just before 6 p.m., the car was driving north, heading toward a trailer park in San Bernardino County. On the way there, Shover messaged his brother,
“Be ready for tonight. Get shovels and lighter fluid ready.”
Gary Anthony Shover, 27, pleaded guilty in March to one count of accessory after the fact. He was sentenced to one year in county jail, followed by a year of probation. The older brother was originally charged with Briones’ murder, but that charge was dropped in 2022. The older brother took a plea deal, but Owen Shover chose to have a 6-day trial. After more than a day of deliberations, the jurors decided his fate.
He is facing a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole when he is sentenced on October 25.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
