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Carson Man Is Charged in Couple’s Slayings

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Times Staff Writer

A cousin of an elderly Cerritos couple found dead in their home was charged Monday with two counts of murder that could lead to the death penalty, the district attorney’s office said.

Anthony Deondrea Cain, 28, of Carson, who was arrested Thursday, has also been charged with two counts of robbery, prosecutors said.

The bodies of Ernestine and Lamar Matthews, both 75, were found in their home on Oak Crest Street on Feb. 11. At the time, police said it did not appear that anything of value had been taken.

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The causes of their deaths have not been released.

Lamar Matthews, a former parole officer, and Ernestine Matthews, a former teacher for the Compton Unified School District, had been planning their 50th wedding anniversary, police said.

The morning the couple were found, they had been scheduled to go to a casino with about 50 fellow alumni from Miles College of Birmingham, Ala.

Cain is being held without bail. If convicted of murder with special circumstances, Cain could face the death penalty or a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

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Superior Court Judge Leland H. Tipton has scheduled Cain’s arraignment for April 12.

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