LOS ANGELES – A driver was convicted Friday of second-degree murder in the death of an Italian honeymooner on the Venice Beach boardwalk.
Los Angeles County prosecutors said Nathan Campbell was angry about a drug deal gone bad and targeted vendors and tourists on the popular walkway.
The 39-year-old Campbell was convicted in the August 2013 death of Alice Gruppioni. Verdicts were read on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and leaving the scene of the accident where 17 people were injured.
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Campbell, of Colorado, faces up to life in prison when sentenced Aug. 5.
His attorney acknowledged that Campbell killed Gruppioni and hit people but said he had tried to avoid them and wasn’t guilty of murder.
Gruppioni, 32, was honeymooning with her husband from Bologna, Italy, when she was struck. She was carried 300 feet (91 metres) on the hood of the car and rolled off, hitting the pavement. She died from head injuries.
Her widower, Christian Casadei, fought back tears during the trial as he described trying to pull her into a doorway as the car bore down on them. Casadei said she died as he held her hand.
In opening statements, Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila told jurors that Campbell was bent on revenge after a drug dealer took $35 and never returned with methamphetamine for himself and a friend.
“Point them out, I’ll run them over,” Campbell told a homeless man before heading to his car, Avila said.
Campbell was legally drunk when he surrendered.
Defence lawyer James Cooper III told jurors that his client swerved to avoid people, hitting tents, an ATM, a row of bikes and a mannequin.
“Yes, my client did cause this tragic, nonsensical event,” Cooper said in his closing argument. “Mr. Campbell is a killer. However, unintentional killings are not murder.”
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