Father Throws 4 Year Old Daughter Off Cliff

The British mother of the four-year-old victim cries in an LA court as her nearly 15-year wait for justice comes to an end.

A father has been convicted of first-degree murder for throwing his daughter off a cliff in California.

Cameron Brown killed four-year-old Lauren Sarene Key nearly 15 years ago to get revenge against her mother and avoid custody payments, prosecutors said.

The former airline baggage handler, 53, showed no emotion in Los Angeles Superior Court as the verdict was read out.

He faces a mandatory term of life in prison without parole when he is sentenced next month.

Briton Sarah Key-Marer, Brown’s ex-wife and Lauren’s mother, was crying in the courtroom.

Brown, 53, claimed his daughter tripped and fell

“It’s all been really hard. The pain, we just learned to live with the pain,” she said.

“All I ever wanted was that he would take responsibility for what happened that day.

“So I am thankful to God for carrying me and my family and my friends through this time.”

Brown maintained his daughter’s death was an accident.

He said she tripped and fell as she ran towards the cliff’s edge at Inspiration Point in Rancho Palos Verdes in November 2000.

“I’m innocent,” he told the judge.

Inspiration Point, where Lauren died in 2000

But prosecutors said he tossed her off the 120-ft (36.5m) cliff because he never wanted the child and was locked in a bitter custody dispute with her mother.

The long-running case saw two previous juries deadlocked over whether Brown was guilty of murder or manslaughter.

In this third trial, jurors heard most of the same evidence as the previous juries.

But evidence of a financial motive for Lauren’s killing was bolstered by a new witness.

Deputy District Attorney Craig Hum said the witness testified that Brown had said it would be “nice to get rid of Lauren” to get out of paying $1,000-a-month child support.

Leaving court, juror Shelia Janis said: “I’m sorry to Sarah for all the pain she has been going through. I’m sorry for the death of your baby. But justice has finally been served.”

Source – skynews