Man Found Guilty in 1996 Murder of Chatsworth Pair

A jury convicted a man Friday of helping to murder a Chatsworth couple during a 1996 home invasion, providing what a prosecutor called “closure” for their two sons, who survived the attack.

Antwan Marque Allison, 19, of Compton, now faces a minimum of 50 years to life behind bars following the guilty verdicts by the seven-woman, five-man jury for murder, burglary, robbery and assault with a firearm.

“We are very pleased by the jury’s verdict as to the two counts of first-degree murder for Donna and Richard Landau,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Beth Silverman. “The last two years have been devastating to the family and especially for the Landaus’ two sons, Jonathan and Jason. Hopefully, these verdicts will bring a sense of closure.”

Defense attorney Alex Kessel said he was pleased that jurors failed to find special circumstances in the case, which would have qualified Allison for life in prison without parole.

The trial was the second for Allison, who was tried in May along with his cousin Rickey Smith Jr. Smith was convicted on all counts, but a mistrial was declared for Allison because of juror misconduct.

Donna and Richard Landau were murdered in their home, located in a remote area off Owensmouth Avenue. Each was bound with duct tape before being shot. Their wounded son Jonathan, then 15, played dead and then managed to escape by climbing out onto the roof. Jason was 18 at the time of the murders.

Allison and Smith will be sentenced Oct. 10 by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Judith Ashmann, who presided over both trials.