Doctor Gets Life Term in Murder-Fraud Scheme
A Glendale doctor convicted of murdering a stranger and faking his identity in a complex insurance fraud scheme was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Richard P. Boggs, a 57-year-old neurologist, could have faced the death penalty for the April, 1988, murder of a Burbank accountant, but a jury recommended life in prison instead. The sentence for murder and fraud was ordered by Superior Court Judge Florence Marie Cooper, who also denied a defense motion for a new trial.
She said Boggs induced two others to participate in the murder, carrying it out with “sophistication and professionalism.” Boggs was convicted of luring Ellis Henry Greene, 32, into his office, where Greene was disabled with a stun gun and suffocated.
Prosecutors said Boggs then called paramedics and identified the body as that of Melvin Eugene Hanson, his friend and patient. Hanson is awaiting trial. Prosecutors alleged that Boggs killed Greene so he could claim $1.5 million in insurance policies on Hanson.
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