Southern California

Two Men Guilty in Family's Gruesome Pinyon Pines Murder

Two men have been convicted of killing three people at a remote Southern California home a dozen years ago.

Jon Hayward and Vicki Friedli were shot and left in their burning house in the mountain community of Pinyon Pines in 2006. The burned corpse of Friedli's 18-year-old daughter, Becky Friedli, was found in a wheelbarrow.

Jurors on Thursday found Robert Pape and Cristin Smith guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of Hayward and Vicky Friedli.

Pape also was convicted of second-degree murder in Becky Friedli's death. He was her ex-boyfriend.

The triple killing was a cold case for several years until investigators uncovered new evidence.

The two men are scheduled for sentencing in August. Each could get life in prison without chance of parole.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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