Man Acquitted of Killing O.C. Woman : Crime: Jury deliberates two days before finding Fontana worker innocent in the shooting death of Bonnie Jean Hood at her Sierra camp.

A man accused of slaying a Newport Beach woman at the mountain lodge she owned was found innocent Friday by a Tulare County Superior Court jury.

Bruce Edward Beauchamp, 31, a construction worker from Fontana, was found innocent in the murder of Bonnie Jean Hood, 46, owner of Camp Nelson Lodge in the Sierra hamlet of Camp Nelson.

The defendant, who once worked for the victim’s husband, had denied the killing but admitted being in Camp Nelson last Aug. 19, the night that someone fatally shot Hood. He testified that he was driving back home when she died.

Jurors deliberated for two days before reaching a verdict. Beauchamp also was acquitted of attempted murder in the shooting of Rudy Manuel, 35, who was the lodge’s caretaker. In addition, he was found innocent of attempted robbery and burglary.

Prosecutors argued that Beauchamp shot Manuel and Hood in an attempted robbery.

However, defense attorney Charles Rothbaum offered a number of theories that ranged from accusing Manuel of the murder to the alleged involvement of drug dealers.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Melinda Reed labeled the defense’s case a “circus.”

If Beauchamp had been convicted of first-degree murder, the prosecution had planned to ask the jury to recommend the death penalty.