Man Sentenced to Life in Therapist’s Slaying

A Glendale man was sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday for the June 1997 slaying of a Los Feliz psychotherapist.

Joshua Geier, 19, shot Jeffrey Green in the head and then wiped his own fingerprints from doorknobs and glasses, removed shell casings from Green’s Los Feliz home and repositioned the body to make it appear he died while trying to sexually assault someone, according to testimony during the Los Angeles Superior Court trial.

“He showed an incredible ability to clean up the crime scene,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Darrell Mavis.

Mavis said Geier’s ability to clean up the scene could have resulted from his parents being police officers. Authorities said one parent is a Burbank police officer and the other is a Glendale officer.

Mavis said he was pleased that Geier was sentenced to the maximum penalty allowed by law--life in state prison without the possibility of parole.

Geier’s public defender, Mark Zuckman, did not dispute that his client killed Green. Instead, Zuckman argued that Green intended to sexually assault Geier soon after the two met in a Griffith Park parking lot. Geier was in the park, holding his Glock 9-millimeter handgun and contemplating suicide when Green pulled into the parking lot, Zuckman said during the trial.

Zuckman said Green invited Geier to his home, where Green attempted to sexually assault the teenager. Geier, upset, reacted by shooting Green, Zuckman said.

But during questioning by Mavis, a friend of Geier’s testified that days before the shooting Geier had asked if the friend would kill someone for money.

Geier was convicted Feb. 6 of first-degree murder, as well as one count each of burglary, robbery and receiving stolen property.