Irvine man convicted of murdering father so he could visit girlfriend
A jury Wednesday convicted an Irvine man of murdering his father so he could meet with his Internet girlfriend across the country.
Steven Bruno, 23, a former Corona del Mar High School student, shot his father in the chest and head in August 2012 before taking off with his dad’s car, cash and credit cards.
Officials arrested him a day later in Colorado.
He was headed for Toledo, Ohio, where he planned a rendezvous with a woman he had been communicating with online for months, according to prosecutors.
After two weeks of testimony and deliberations, jurors convicted Bruno of second-degree murder, with a sentencing enhancement for personal discharge of a firearm causing death.
Bruno faces a maximum of 40 years to life in prison at his sentencing in December.
Lawyers for Bruno had argued that the killing wasn’t premeditated. Bruno was afraid of his father and was contemplating suicide the night of the shooting, attorney Leonard Matsuk told jurors during opening statements. Bruno fired when his father came around a corner and charged at him, Matsuk said.
Bruno’s father, Ernest, 60, had cracked down on his son after he flunked out of a golf management program at Mississippi State University and couldn’t get a job back home, according to Bruno’s defense team.
Bruno’s lawyers said the situation was abusive at times, with Ernest Bruno leaving for days and locking his son out of the Irvine condominium where they lived. During those times, Steven Bruno had to urinate in bottles and survive on pizza in the garage where he slept, Matsuk said.
However, Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Cynthia Herrera cast Steven Bruno as bent on meeting with his girlfriend, even if that meant killing his father.
“He was spoiled and he wanted his way,” Herrera said during opening statements.
Family members found Ernest Bruno’s body a day after the killing when they entered the condo and saw a pool of blood, prompting them to call Irvine police.
Steven Bruno had dragged the body into an office and locked the door before leaving for Toledo, according to prosecutors.