Dana Point : Youth Convicted of Manslaughter, Arson
An 18-year-old native of the Netherlands was found guilty of manslaughter and arson Wednesday in the slaying of his legal guardian, a Dana Point man who was shot in the head and whose body was later set afire.
Although the prosecution sought a first-degree murder conviction against Jouri DeBeer, who was 17 at the time of the crime, a Superior Court jury instead found him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. He also was convicted of arson and use of a weapon to commit homicide.
Phillip Allen Parsons, 51, was a Bechtel Co. electrician who had met DeBeer when the youth was 13 and living in Saudi Arabia with his mother and stepfather. Parsons was slain April 9, 1985.
DeBeer was accused of shooting Parsons in the head, then placing his body in a van and driving to Riverside County, where the body was doused with gasoline and set afire, Deputy Dist. Atty. Jay Moseley said. According to Moseley, DeBeer then returned to the Dana Point apartment and set it on fire in an attempt to hide evidence.
DeBeer had argued that he killed Parsons after Parsons tried to molest him.
Superior Court Judge Robert R. Fitzgerald set a June 20 sentencing date for DeBeer, who was tried as an adult.
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