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Transient Could Face Death Penalty for Elderly Couple Murder Charges

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Photo of Shirley Isom (left) & Armie “Troy” Isom (right). Courtesy of LA Sheriff’s Dept.

The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office charged a 23-year-old transient with capital murder for beating an elderly couple to death and stealing the wife’s cell phone.

The 23-year-old transient, Luke Mathew Fabela, is charged in the Dec. 26, 2014 murders of 74-year-old Shirley Isom and 89-year-old Armie “Troy” Isom. Deputy District Attorney Tannaz Mokayef says the couple died from blunt trauma after Fabela beat them with a hard object. Authorities found their bodies at their hillside estate on Roughrider Road in La Verne. In addition, Mokayef says Shirley Isom also sustained sharp force trauma during the crime.

Prosecutors say Fabela stole Isom’s cell phone and that this might be his possible motive for the crime. Authorities also say DNA at the scene led them to Fabela.

The Los Angeles DA’s office charged Fabela with two counts of murder with the special circumstance of multiple murders in the commission of a robbery, one count of second degree robbery and one count of first-degree residential burglary. The criminal complaint against him also mentioned the use of a deadly weapon. Prosecutors will decide whether Fabela will face the death penalty. He was scheduled for his arraignment on Wednesday in Department N at the Pomona Branch of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.