Special Circumstances Found in Murder Case
A jury found Friday that special circumstances existed at the time George Marvin Trone Jr. and a partner murdered a Pasadena woman in 1988, making Trone, 21, eligible for the death penalty.
Pasadena Superior Court Judge Charles C. Lee ordered the jury to return Jan. 16 for the penalty phase to decide whether Trone should be sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On Aug. 30, a previous jury convicted Trone of murdering Lois Haro, 26, after abducting her from a shopping mall. But that panel deadlocked on whether special circumstances existed, and a new jury was empaneled to decide that issue.
Trone’s partner, Ronald Anthony Jones, also 21, named by police as the triggerman, was convicted of murder and sentenced to death earlier this year. The special circumstances trial has focused on whether Trone intended for Haro to be killed when he participated in her kidnaping, rape and robbery.
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