BURBANK : Man Pleads Guilty in Mother’s Drowning
A Burbank man has pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder in the February drowning death of his 70-year-old mother in her back-yard pool, a prosecutor said.
John Pierre Ravel, 48, entered his plea Tuesday before Pasadena Superior Court Judge Thomas W. Stoever just as jury selection was about to begin in his case, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Mark Collier.
“He held her underwater for two or three minutes until she quit struggling,” Collier said. “He basically admitted it all to police.”
In a taped confession, Ravel “said he basically lost control,” Collier said. “He had a lot of anger and frustration built up for her and pushed her into the water.”
Stoever set sentencing for Jan. 10, Collier said. Ravel faces 15 years to life in state prison for the felony conviction. The lesser second-degree murder count means the crime was committed without deliberation or premeditation.
Public defender Bennett Mori was not available for comment Wednesday.
Last week, prosecutors had expected Ravel to agree to a plea bargain agreement of second-degree murder. But he changed his mind at the last minute.
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