Trial starts for man accused of killing parents, housekeeper in Newport Beach

A 34-year-old man bludgeoned and repeatedly stabbed his parents to death and then slit the throat of his family’s longtime housekeeper in a gated community of Newport Beach, a prosecutor told jurors Monday, while the defendant’s attorney said his client has been diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder and should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Camden Burton Nicholson is charged with three counts of special circumstances murder with a sentencing enhancement of multiple murders. Since he has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity the trial will be split up into two phases with the first part tasking jurors with deciding if the defendant is guilty of the charges and then pivoting in the second part to whether or not he was criminally insane at the time.

The verdicts will determine if he is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole or if he’s sent to a mental health facility indefinitely.

Nicholson is accused of killing his parents 64-year-old Richard Nicholson, 61-year-old Kim Nicholson, and 57-year-old Maria Morse of Anaheim.

The defendant’s mother and father were killed on Feb. 11, 2019, and Morse was killed the next day.

Richard Nicholson was seen in security footage driving back to his home in the gated community at 36 Palazzo at about 12:45 p.m. the day of his death, Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Dave Porter said in his opening statement of the trial.

Nicholson, who was “completely dependent on his parents,” met his father in the garage of the home and “stabbed him over and over again,” Porter said.

Nicholson put his father’s body into a small bathroom and stuffed towels at the bottom of the door to keep the blood from puddling out, Porter said.

About 10 minutes later his mother arrived home, and the defendant slammed a metal statue over her and repeatedly stabbed her, Porter said.

“There was so much blood the defendant tried to soak it up” with a bag of flour, Porter said.

Chunks of his mother’s hair were found at the crime scene, indicating she fought for her life, Porter said.

Nicholson then began taking his mother and father’s car as he would go to stores and businesses, Porter said.

The next day, Morse, who was a “longtime housekeeper” for the family, arrived for work at about 7:45 a.m. Nicholson repeatedly stabbed Morse and slit her throat before stuffing her into a large plastic bin with her arms and legs sticking out, Porter said.

Then the defendant went on various “shopping sprees” such as buying $300 worth of marijuana from a dispensary, a stop at a drug store and a business where he bought sex toys, Porter said.

At about 8:30 p.m., after returning home, he left again and drove in his father’s car to a Kaiser Permanente facility in Irvine where he dialed 911 and reported that he killed his parents, but said it was in self-defense because they were trying to kill him, Porter said.

Nicholson’s attorney, Richard Cheung of the Orange County public defender’s office, said his client was raised in Newport Beach with his family, who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His mental health issues date back to 2012 when he had his first episode while on a church mission in Florida. Nicholson was prescribed medication and sent home early from the mission, Cheung said.

Nicholson attempted to finish his college degree at the University of Utah, but in September 2012 he had another mental health episode and was hospitalized on a psychiatric hold, the attorney said.

Nicholson was prescribed anti-psychotic medications and attempted to live on his own again in 2017 when he moved to Colorado, Cheung said. It was there he underwent hormone therapy, which made him feel better so he stopped taking the anti-psychotic medication, the defense attorney said.

Nicholson was hospitalized in Colorado on Sept. 11, 2018, Cheung said, after he started experiencing visions and voices in his head.

Nicholson complained at the time that he believed his landlord was attempting to kill him by lining the floor with oyster shells that were dispensing sarin gas, the lawyer added.

Doctors were working up a diagnosis on Nicholson in December 2018 when he abruptly left home. When his parents tried to contact him by text, they were met by a “barrage” of “vulgar and bizarre” responses.

“This goes on for the next few days,” Cheung said.

When he refused to come home his parents cut off his credit cards, Cheung added.

Nicholson was admitted to several emergency rooms during this time for “pseudo seizures” brought on by his anxiety. He was admitted to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach on Dec. 28, 2018, for the seizures and when his family attempted to meet him there he told hospital staff to keep them away, accusing his father of being “insane,” Cheung said.

Nicholson also said he believed he had “poison” in his bloodstream, the defense attorney said.

As doctors were working to diagnose what was wrong, Nicholson left the hospital. He ended up back at Hoag on Feb. 5, 2019, where he said his “satanic” family was trying to track him and take control of him, Cheung said.

Nicholson was taken to College Hospital on a mental health hold that keeps patients in custody for a few days. The physicians at College Hospital diagnosed him with schizoaffective disorder, Cheung said, adding that Nicholson demanded his release against the advice of doctors on Feb. 11, 2019.

Cheung played a tape of Nicholson ranting and raving at the Kaiser facility in Irvine.

“This is someone who was unfortunately unstable,” Cheung said.

Anderson is a City News Service reporter.