DA: Man found guilty of murdering father, assaulting mother
A man faces multiple life sentences when he is to be sentenced July 15 for murdering his father and assaulting his mother, who he tried to get to help cover up the crimes, according to the Kern County District Attorney's Office.
Edward James Pull on Friday was found by a jury to be guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his father, Edward William Pull. He was also convicted of several crimes against his mother, including assault with an AR-15 style rifle causing great bodily injury, false imprisonment, elder abuse and being a felon in possession of a firearm, the DA's office reported. Firearm and great bodily injury enhancements were also found to be true.
The judge found true several aggravating factors, including the defendant's three prior 2006 felony convictions for lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, a DA's office news release said.
Bakersfield Police Department officers who were sent Dec. 11, 2017 to investigate a robbery found two victims bleeding. The defendant told police a robber had shot his father and beat his mother, but later, when she was safe, the mother said there was no robber and her son was the perpetrator, according to prosecutors.
Surveillance video confirmed that, a DA's office news release said, showing the defendant came out of his bedroom wearing a mask and gloves and carrying a loaded AR-15 style MR Carbine firearm.
The defendant pointed the gun at his father and yelled; the mother came to see what was happening and then was beaten on her head with the rifle, causing an eight-inch gash on the top her head, as well as other head lacerations and bruising all over her body, according to the DA's office.
When Edward William Pull tried to help his wife, the defendant assaulted him with the firearm and then shot his father twice, once in the abdomen and once in the left leg, prosecutors said.
The defendant waited four hours to call for help, forcing his mother to help clean up the crime scene, hide and destroy evidence, the news release said.
While Edward William Pull underwent several operations to attempt to save his life, he died from his injuries a week later.
'This was a heinous and calculated act, one that the victims' never saw coming. Not only did the defendant take the life of his own father, but he also attempted to cover it up and force his mother into being his accomplice," Assistant District Attorney Joseph Kinzel said in the news release. "Yet despite his efforts to evade accountability, justice prevailed in the end.'
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