Prosecution lays out case against man charged in Malibu Creek State Park murder
Anthony Rauda is accused of murdering a research scientist in Malibu Creek State Park in June 2018.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A five-year-old wound was reopened in criminal courts Friday for those who lost Tristan Beaudette, a beloved husband, scientist and father.
Beaudette was killed in June 2018 while camping at Malibu Creek State Park when he was shot in the head as he and his two daughters were sleeping.
A relative they were with at the time checked in on him after hearing Beaudette's girls - who were 2 and 4 at the time - trying to wake him up.
Anthony Rauda, the man charged with murdering Beaudette, was not in court Friday for opening statements in his trial and he won't be through at least a portion of the trial. The 46-year-old waived that right.
Rauda was convicted last year after being accused of attacking sheriff's deputies while in custody.
In Friday's three-hour long opening statements, prosecutors tried connecting Rauda to each of the 16 charges he faces: one count of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder, and five burglary charges.
Detectives arrested him four months after Beaudette's death while he was living in the Santa Monica Mountains, armed with a rifle.
Prosecutors will tie that rifle to Beaudette's murder and one of the attempted murder charges.
They've laid out some of the evidence they plan to present, showing the trail of physical and digital evidence Rauda left that ultimately led to his arrest in the wilderness.
Beaudette's wife was also in court Friday with a large support group as she had to relive much of the trauma she has endured over the past five years.
Prosecutors showed several photos of her husband and their daughters
The defense will deliver its opening statements Monday, May 8.
