Local News in Brief : Son to Face Trial in Bludgeon Slaying of Mother, Stepfather
A 55-year-old North Hollywood man Friday was ordered to stand trial on charges that he bludgeoned to death his 73-year-old mother and 75-year-old stepfather.
John Frederick La Rou is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the March killings of Jeanette and Samuel Unger, whose bodies were found after La Rou surrendered to police. The two charges carry a special-circumstances allegation that could result in the death, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Steven Ogden.
Los Angeles Police Sgt. Larry Bradfield said at the preliminary hearing before San Fernando Municipal Court Judge James E. Satt that La Rou walked into the North Hollywood Division police station March 23 and told officers that he thought he had killed his stepfather.
Officers accompanied La Rou to the couple’s apartment on Laurel Canyon Boulevard and found the two bodies, Bradfield said in court.
La Rou’s former wife, Doris George, testified that La Rou told her he had beaten the couple to death.
Ogden said after the hearing that La Rou had told police he had a longstanding hatred of his stepfather.
Satt ordered La Rou held without bail pending arraignment May 30 on the charges.
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