LOCAL : Sylmar Man Gets 25 Years to Life for Killing His 9-Year-Old Son

A Sylmar man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison this morning for the death of his 9-year-old son in what authorities said was a failed murder-suicide attempt.

Ronald Rennie, 38, who was sentenced by Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Judith Meisels Ashmann, had pleaded no contest to one count of first-degree murder.

Prosecutors said Rennie gave his son, Christopher, dozens of tranquilizers and antibiotics and took the same drugs himself. The boy was found dead in his father’s bed June 20, 1988, and Rennie was found lying beside him in a semiconscious state, prosecutors said.

Rennie maintained his innocence in a pre-sentencing report in which he stated that he did not know how his son was drugged. “I know I did nothing to cause my son’s death,” Rennie said in the report.

Rennie’s attorney, Harry E. Weiss, said his client pleaded no contest to the charge because he could not prove his innocence and did not wish to risk a life sentence without parole if found guilty during a trial. Weiss asked Ashmann to sentence Rennie to probation.

But Ashmann said evidence introduced at a preliminary hearing against Rennie strongly indicated Rennie’s involvement in his son’s death. Prosecutors said evidence included letters written to several people by Rennie in which he mentioned plans to kill his son.