MALIBU—Opening statements for the Tristan Beaudette, 35, murder case were issued on Monday, May 8. Anthony Rauda, 46, is the suspect who is being accused for the murder of Beaudette while he was camping with his family at Malibu State Creek park back in June of 2018.
A witness by the name of Scott McCurdy, who is the victim’s brother-in-law, told the jury at a downtown Los Angeles courthouse that he heard loud popping the night of the murder. He explained that he was in a nearby tent at the campsite and was awakened by the noise. McCurdy stated that he initially thought the sound might have been fireworks or sounds coming from a nearby fire pit.
During his testimony he explained that he overheard two girls crying. “I heard the girls crying,” he said, telling jurors that Beaudette’s youngest daughter said, “Wet, wet” and that he didn’t think anything about it at the time. He decided to leave his tent to see what was going on. He saw the older sister talking to the younger sister. The girls were identified as Beaudette’s daughters.
McCurdy approached the girls and tried to comfort them. He also tried to wake his brother-in-law and turned on his phone which was found to be slippery and wet. After he touched the phone he found that his hand had touched blood.
When he turned and examined the body he found his brother-in-law was in a pool of blood. McCurdy searched for a pulse and tried to get Beaudette’s daughters out of the tent. “I noticed there was nothing in his eyes,” said McCurdy. “I realized he was gone and I left.” McCurdy also stated that he found a small hole in the tent which was recently purchased.
Beaudette was an Allergan scientist from UC Irvine. Both his daughters were aged 2 and 4 during the time of his murder. They were both uninjured.
Rauda is facing murder charges along with attempted murder charges involving a series of early morning shootings that have transpired between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m, including one in which a man who had been sleeping in a hammock. He is also facing five counts of second-degree commercial burglary involving a series of break-ins, including two at the Calabasas Community Center and two at the Las Virgenes Water District facility between July 2018 and October 2018, that primarily involved food that was taken from the facilities.
Another witness spoke earlier in Monday’s trial. Stacey Sebourn stated that she was camping at the same location during the morning of the murder. She was sleeping in her tent when she woke up to gunshots. Sebourn recounted that she called 9-1-1 after she heard crying and a man calling for help.
During her call she said she whispered into her phone because she didn’t want to bring attention to her tent. Sebourn said she was petrified.
By Christianne