“It’s a good thing for the community to remember how things can go terribly wrong,” said Linda Evans, the high’s school former principal, who was a teacher at the time of the murder.
The inmate, Paul Crowder, was serving 15 years to life, plus four years for killing Berlyn. Crowder argued in court that his gun accidentally fired.
Prosecutors argued against Crowder’s release at his parole hearing, saying he hasn’t taken responsibility for killing Berlyn. The Orange County district attorney’s office claimed that Crowder took just one anger management class in prison.
Berlyn’s father, Mark Cosman, wrote in favor of Crowder’s parole to state corrections officials, according to records filed with the state appellate court.
“I am under the opinion that [Crowder] does not seek to harm anyone,” Mark Cosman stated. “I further believe that the delusions of his ill years, which ultimately led to his grievous crime, for the most part have been dispelled.”
Mark Cosman — who wrote a book about dealing with his daughter’s murder — apparently came to his opinion after Crowder sent an apology letter, setting off years of back-and-forth letter writing between the pair, according to court records.
Gov. Jerry Brown must still sign off on the parole board’s decision, a move that is likely given Mark Cosman’s support.
Crowder, who was 19 at the time, was not a La Crescenta student, but went to the prom night party with Berlyn’s boyfriend.
Crowder was drinking alcohol and had two guns, one of which he waved around, prosecutors said.
