Man Faces Trial in 1983 Slaying of Mother-in-Law

Michael Wayne Seawright, accused of hiring two brothers to murder his mother-in-law in Hawthorne as part of a plot to take over a family-owned business, was ordered Thursday to stand trial for the crime.

After a two-day preliminary hearing, South Bay Municipal Court Judge Benjamin Aranda ruled that there is enough evidence for Seawright to stand trial on one count of murder, with special circumstances because it allegedly was committed during a burglary and for financial gain; one count of conspiracy to commit murder, and one count of aiding and abetting a burglary.

Seawright, who is being held without bail, could face the death penalty if convicted of all charges against him. He is scheduled to appear in Torrance Superior Court on May 15.

Seawright is the fourth person to be charged with the April 5, 1983, shooting death of Catherine Stroup. Her husband, James, spent seven months in County Jail before a Torrance Superior Court jury acquitted him of the crime later that year.

Seawright was arrested in 1984 after detectives recovered a gun involved in the crime. Charges were not filed because investigators failed to come up with enough evidence linking him to the murder.

Earlier this year, however, Peter and Paul Leach--two brothers allegedly hired by Seawright to kill the Stroups--agreed to testify against Seawright.

The February agreement allowed Paul Leach to plead guilty to second-degree murder. Peter Leach, who was convicted in 1988 of first-degree murder committed for financial gain, was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. That sentence, however, recently was overturned by a state Court of Appeal.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Mike Duarte said the Leaches are expected to testify during Seawright’s trial that Seawright promised them a new truck, $80,000 cash and a half-interest in the family’s Twentynine Palms water delivery business if they would murder his parents-in-law.