Father 'threw girl off cliff to avoid child support'
A father threw his four-year-old daughter off a cliff into the Pacific Ocean to avoid paying child support to her British mother, a court in the US has heard.
Opening the murder retrial of Cameron Brown, 47, yesterday, prosecutors said the accused had no interest in his child Lauren Sarene Key and motivated by financial gain, hurled the girl off Inspiration Point in Rancho Palos Verdes, California in 2000.
It is the second time that Brown has faced a jury over the allegations. In 2006 a mistrial was ruled after members of the jury failed to reach a verdict over the severity of the crime. Some favoured a first-degree murder conviction, while others were convinced it should be second-degree murder or manslaughter.
Brown has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His lawyer Pat Harris told the Los Angeles Superior court that the cliff fall was an accident.
But deputy district attorney Craig Hum painted the defendant, a former baggage handler for American Airlines, as an uncaring father who was motivated by financial claim.
The prosecution argue that he threw the young girl to her death to avoid paying around $1,000 a month in child support to Sarah Key-Marer, a British woman who emigrated to the US.
They allege that he took Lauren to the cliff where the pair couldnât be seen and âhurledâ her into the Pacific Ocean.
Mr Hum said: âThis man picked up Lauren, whom he fathered but was never a father to, and threw her off a cliff into the waters below.â
But Brownâs defence team dismissed the prosecutionâs case as based on âcharacter assassinationâ.
Mr Harris painted his client as a loving parent.
He said Brown carried a picture of Lauren in his wallet, gave her gifts and celebrated with friends when he won visitation rights after the coupleâs split.
The defence also pointed towards court documents filed two weeks before the girlâs death that indicated that Brown was seeking more contact with his daughter.
âIt doesnât make sense,â Mr Harris said.
The case continues.
