Local News in Brief : Westminster : Bail Denied for Man Accused of Killing Wife

A West County Municipal Court judge on Wednesday refused to set bail for David Arnold Brown, who, along with his late wife’s sister, is charged with killing his wife in 1985 to collect insurance money, then letting his daughter take the blame.

Judge Michael Beecher denied a bail request by the 35-year-old Anaheim Hills man and his attorney, Steven L. Harmon. Brown remained in custody Wednesday at County Jail.

Brown has pleaded not guilty to the March 19, 1985, murder of his wife, Linda Marie Brown, 23. And he has also denied claims by his daughter, Cinnamon, now 18, that she assumed blame for the murder because her father told her that she was too young to be kept in custody.

A Dec. 19 preliminary hearing is scheduled for Brown on the murder charge. The suspect also faces a special circumstance allegation of committing murder for financial gain, which could lead to the death penalty if he is convicted.

Brown, the owner of Data Recovery, a computer service company that police have said he ran out of his home, was arrested Sept. 22 with his late wife’s younger sister, Patricia Ann Bailey, 20, after his daughter told investigators that her father had killed Linda Marie Brown.

Prosecutors have alleged that Brown planned his wife’s murder to collect $1.15 million in life insurance.