KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
A judge found a Canyon Country man accused of two “mercy killings” guilty on both counts of first degree murder during a court trial on Tuesday.
Sponsored Articles
Lance Holger Anderson, 61, went to trial last week, and sat before a judge in a court trial — Anderson chose to forgo a jury trial and pleaded his case before Judge Hayden Zacky — while lawyers made the case that he arranged funerals for the victims and practiced his shooting before the December 2013 killings.
Anderson’s lawyer argued the facts were not in dispute, but called for the judge to sentence him for manslaughter due to the “mercy killing” nature of the shootings.
At his next court date, Aug. 10, Anderson faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Get live news updates about Santa Clarita by following KHTS on Facebook and KHTS on TwitterThe first killing took place at the apartment in the 26800 block of Claudette Street that Anderson shared with his wife, Bertha Anderson. Her husband fatally shot her as a “mercy killing” because she was suffering from a series of health issues.
He then traveled to North Hills, where he killed his sister.
Anderson’s lawyer said Anderson’s sister, Lisa Nave, “was dependant fully on the facility” she was being kept at, receiving nutrients through a feeding tube and unable to hold a conversation, living without true quality of life in a convalescent home in North Hills.
The Andersons’ neighbors reported hearing “two loud booms” the night before Bertha was found during a welfare check to the house.
Anderson was apprehended by Los Angeles Police Department officials near the scene of Nave’s death.
A Derringer pistol, which detectives believe was the murder weapon in both deaths, was found nearby, and Lance Anderson was reportedly arrested without incident at the convalescent home.
Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.
Very sad! I don’t consider him a criminal although there isn’t much else the court can do but convict him. If I was in the condition of either of his victims, I’d want to die quickly. Thanks goodness things are getting more lenient in regard to assisted death.
While I am sorry for him and know all too well that being the full time caregiver for a seriously, chronically ill person is a tremendous burden, I don’t condone what he did. Yes, individuals should have the right to opt for death with dignity if that is their choice. Others, even family members, do not have the right to decide to end the individual’s life, especially in a violent way.
This underscores why every adult should make friends, family members, and healthcare providers aware of their wishes regarding what to do in case of your mental or physical incapacity BEFORE there is a need to know. Fill out the “Five Wishes” or similar documents. Get the powers of attorney completed and witnessed. Have those documents ready to hand (near the front door or posted on the refrigerator) to show emergency responders what the person wanted.
However, there is a difference between allowing the dying process to continue without artificial intervention and hurrying death along by means of outside forces. The first is mercy. The second is murder.
How sad. It makes you wish that humans had an “on/off” switch to use when life becomes unbearable. I wonder why he chose to take his case before a judge, who had to rely only on law, and not before a jury, which might have considered other issues. I would not have convicted him. I certainly hope he doesn’t have to spend the rest of his so-called life behind bars.
Neither woman was in pain, neither wanted their lives ended. He never took care of his sister, i did!