LAKE FOREST
A man was convicted of first-degree murder Thursday for bludgeoning his stepfather to death with a hammer in Lake Forest last spring.
William Lorance, 34, admitted killing James Morgan, 62, during a taped confession to police.
On the tape, Lorance said he planned to kill his mother and stepfather four days before the April 16 murder after the couple kicked him out of their house on Islamare Lane. Lorance was staying at the house to avoid a long commute to his construction job in Irvine.
The jury rejected Lorance’s attorney’s claim that the murder was a crime of passion and that Lorance never considered the consequences of his actions.
When sentenced Feb. 4, Lorance could get 25 years to life in prison, said Deputy District Atty. Tom Glazier.
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