Man Won’t Be Charged in 1985 Slaying of Aunt

Prosecutors have decided not to file charges against a man suspected of the highly publicized slaying six years ago of his aunt, a wealthy landowner and descendant of a pioneer Agoura family. However, Los Angeles police continue to identify him as the prime suspect.

After a lengthy review by the district attorney’s office, prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence to charge Michael Kanan, 34, with the murder of Judy Kanan, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the prosecutors’ office. Michael Kanan, through his attorney, has in the past denied any part in the killing.

Judy Kanan, 68, a descendant of the family that settled Agoura in the 1860s, was shot four times by a masked gunman in a raincoat who approached her as she arrived at a Woodland Hills stable on July 29, 1985, to feed horses she kept there. The killer escaped and no arrests were made.