Man Pleads Not Guilty in Murder of Parents
A Valinda man pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he murdered his parents in an elaborate plot to collect several hundred thousand dollars in assets and insurance policies, authorities said.
Deondre A. Staten, 24, has been held without bail since his arrest Tuesday, nearly three months after the slaying of his parents, Arthur and Faye Staten, on the night they returned home from a 2 1/2-week vacation in Egypt.
Their son, who prosecutors said was once an admitted gang member, did a “substantial amount of pre-planning” before allegedly stabbing and shooting his parents, who owned a La Puente beauty salon, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard D. Burns.
Although no murder weapon has been recovered, Burns said he will link Staten to the crimes with evidence from fingerprints, blood analyses, handwriting samples and testimony from firearms experts after a preliminary hearing is scheduled next month.
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