Murderer to Face Retrial on Penalty Phase

Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis announced Wednesday that her office would retry the penalty phase of the trial of Scott Thomas Erskine, 40, for the rape, torture and murder of two San Diego boys in 1993.

Erskine, serving a 70-year sentence for raping a woman in 1993, was convicted in October of the murders of Charlie Keever, 9, and Jonathan Sellers, 13. A jury this week deadlocked 11 to 1 in favor of death.

By law, if Dumanis had decided not to retry the penalty phase, Superior Court Judge Kenneth So would have been required to sentence Erskine to life in prison without parole.