Adoptee convicted of murdering his adoptive father

“A 23-year-old California man has been convicted of murdering his adoptive father in order to steal his car and money so he could visit his internet girlfriend in Ohio.

Steven Bruno was found guilty of one felony count of second degree murder on Wednesday in connection with the 2012 crime.

Bruno fatally shot his father, 60-year-old Ernest Bruno, in the chest and head at the home they shared at 17 Dartmouth in Irvine on Aug. 30, 2012.

After the shooting, Steven Bruno locked the body in a bedroom and left taking his father’s car, cash and credit cards.

He was arrested the next day in Colorado after his brother David discovered the crime scene and called the cops.

Steven Bruno had been headed for Toledo, Ohio, where he planned a rendezvous with a woman he had been communicating with online for months.

Lawyers for the son had argued that the killing wasn’t premeditated.

They claim he was afraid of his father and had been contemplating suicide the night of the shooting

Defense attorney Leonard Matsuk told jurors that Steven Bruno only opened fire when his father came around a corner and charged at him.

The relationship between the pair had soured after Steven had flunked out of a golf management program at Mississippi State University and couldn’t get a job back home, his attorneys said.

Ernest Bruno would sometimes leave for days and lock his son out of the condo where they lived, forcing Steven to live in the garage, Matsuk said.

But prosecutor Cynthia Herrera cast Steven Bruno as someone who was intent on meeting with his girlfriend – even if that meant killing his father.

‘He was spoiled and he wanted his way,’ Herrera said during opening statements.

The victim and his wife had adopted both the defendant and his brother at birth.

Steven Bruno now faces up to 40 years to life in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18.”

‘Spoilt’ son, 23, shot dead his adoptive father so he could steal his car and cash to visit internet date in Ohio
[Daily Mail 10/31/14 by David McCormack]

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