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Man who tried to convince girlfriend to abort convicted of murdering daughter when she was four

May 14, 2015

By Dave Andrusko

Cameron John Brown [file photo]

Cameron John Brown [file photo]

In 2003 Cameron John Brown was arrested in the death of his 4-year-old daughter on November 8, 2000. Two separate panels deadlocked over prosecution charges that Brown threw Lauren Sarene Key off a 120-foot cliff in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Brown insisted his daughter had slipped and fell. He has been in jail since 2003.

Today, however, after deliberating a day and a half, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury convicted Brown of first-degree murder.

“The six-man, six-woman jury — which was the third panel to hear the case against Brown — also found true the special circumstance allegations of murder for financial gain and murder while lying in wait, which carry a mandatory life prison term without the possibility of parole,” reported Debbie L. Sklar for mynewsla.com. Judge George G. Lomeli will sentence the 53-year-old Brown on June 19.

As we reported, the first two juries deadlocked in 2006 and 2009. When the third trial began in March, Deputy District Attorney Craig Hum used his opening statement to tell jurors it would be “clear that Lauren did not slip and fall,’’ but was picked up and thrown off the cliff to her death.

The Daily Breeze’s Terri Vermeulen Keith reported

Brown had unsuccessfully tried to convince the girl’s mother to have an abortion and subsequently showed no interest in his daughter for “most of her life’’ until after her mother sought child support, the prosecutor said.

“In November of 1999, when Lauren is over 3 years old, the defendant finally gets around to meeting her,’’ Hum said, telling jurors that Brown was advised that he needed to request visitation if he wanted a reduction in the monthly child support payments of about $1,000 he had been ordered to pay. …

“Murdering Lauren was the ultimate payback to this woman he despised,’’ Hum said of Brown’s contentious child support dispute with the girl’s mother.

The prosecutor said Brown had “spent a total of about two weeks’’ with his daughter, saying, “there was no relationship, none at all.’’

After the verdict, Hum told reporters, “It’s been a long time. It’s been 15 years and finally we have justice for Lauren.” He reminded them, “In the other prior trials, no juror has ever voted not guilty. It was only a matter of degree and it was obviously very good news for us that they all managed to agree on this verdict.”

Sarah Key-Marer, Lauren’s mother, cried after the verdict was announced. Afterwards she thanked the witnesses and the jurors.

Sklar reported that one juror, Sheila Janis spoke directly to Key-Marer, saying, “I’m sorry for your death of your baby, but justice has finally been served.”

Shortly after the verdict was announced, Key-Marer told reporters she wanted to thank the jurors and the witnesses.

“All I ever wanted was that he would take responsibility for what happened that day so I’m thankful for God for carrying me and my family and my friends through this time,” she said. “Lauren was our gift from God, the best thing that ever happened to us.”

Categories: Crime