A man who murdered a couple at their hillside home near La Verne for the woman’s cell phone was sentenced to life in state prison Friday, authorities said.
Luke Fabela, described by prosecutors as a 27-year-old transient, received a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the 2014 killing authorities once described as a “blitz attack.”
He was convicted of violently beating and stabbing Shirley Isom, 75, and Armie “Troy” Isom, 89, leaving their bodies near the front door of their home along Roughrider Drive the day after Christmas in 2014. Both died of blunt force trauma.
Authorities later said Fabela targeted the couple to steal Shirley’s cell phone, which was the only item missing from their home located in an affluent community between La Verne and Claremont.
Fabela was linked to the scene through DNA evidence.
Jurors found him guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree residential burglary in May, convicting him of special allegations of multiple murders and murder committed during the commission of a burglary.