Brea Man’s Murder Conviction Reversed

The 4th District Court of Appeal has reversed the second-degree murder conviction of a Brea man who allegedly admitted to police that he shot his ex-wife, ruling that the jury should have been instructed about the possible impact of the man’s alcoholic blackout.

In a 3-0 ruling, the court overturned the 1990 conviction of Charles D. Villacres in connection with the slaying of Linda Villacres in the house they shared for several years after their divorce. Villacres, 51, was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison by Orange County Superior Court Judge Randell L. Wilkinson.

However, the court found that Wilkinson erred when he refused a defense request to instruct the jury to include involuntary manslaughter in its possible verdicts “despite evidence that he had a blood alcohol content of 0.24 percent at the time of the killing, had little or no recollection of the events, and expert testimony that he was in a state of alcohol blackout.”

Prosecutors said Tuesday that Villacres would be retried for the killing.