Mom Who Drove Teen to Murder Scene Gets 15 Years to Life
A woman who drove her then-14-year-old son to a California park, where he and some friends fatally attacked a 13-year-old boy, was sentenced today to 15 years to life in prison.
During her trial last month, Eva Daley, who is in her early 30s, “portrayed herself as a struggling single mother of three who had little idea that her oldest son was in a gang,” reports the Los Angeles Times. “She testified that she was driving her son’s friends home on the evening of June 25, 2007, when they suddenly jumped out of her white Chevrolet Tahoe and carried out the assault.”
But a jury didn’t buy that story, convicting the Long Beach mom of second-degree murder in Jose Cano’s death, as an earlier Los Angeles Times article details.
Heriberto Garcia, who was 15 at the time of the murder and is now 17, was also convicted of second-degree murder, as an adult, for wielding a knife used in the attack.
“Six other boys, including Daley’s son, now 17, have pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges and can be incarcerated as juveniles up to the age of 25,” the earlier Times article notes.
Although it’s common for a parent to claim to be ignorant of a child’s gang-related activity, it’s unusual for a parent to be convicted of participating, according to Deputy District Atty. John Lonergan.
“This is the first time I’ve filed [charges] on a parent who has crossed that line of putting up with things to participating in things,” he told the newspaper following the jury verdict. “There’s no doubt in my mind … that she knew exactly what was going on.”
Previous coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Police: Mom Drove Son, 14, to Murder”
