Man convicted of killing 2 boys to be sentenced July 28

SAN DIEGO - A July 28 sentencing date was set Friday for a man facing the death penalty for molesting, torturing and killing two young boys in South San Diego in 1993.

A jury on Wednesday recommended that Scott Erskine be executed for the crimes against 13-year-old Charlie Keever and 9-year-old Jonathan Sellers.

The boys disappeared March 27, 1993, while on a bicycle ride near the Otay River in Palm City.

Erskine, 41, was convicted last October of two counts of first-degree murder and special circumstance allegations of torture and molestation.

The jury that found him guilty deadlocked 11-1 for death and prosecutors decided to retry the penalty phase of trial.

Erskine was in prison in 2001 for raping a woman when advanced technology enabled scientists to determine that someone else's DNA was left in Keever's mouth.

A "cold DNA hit" on prison inmates revealed a match between the DNA in Keever's mouth and the defendant.

Erskine's DNA also was found on two cigarette butts left on the ground outside his man-made "fort" where the boys were killed.

Superior Court Judge Kenneth So will convene an evidentiary hearing July 26 in which a university professor will testify regarding a comprehensive study done to determine how jurors view capital cases.

Following the estimated two-day hearing and other motions - including a speedy trial motion and a motion regarding the unconstitutionality of the death penalty - the sentencing is scheduled to take place.

Defense attorney Larry Ainbinder argued that the United States is "out of step" with the global community in allowing the "barbaric" punishment such as the death penalty.

Ainbinder and co-counsel also told the judge they have informed their client not to speak with a probation officer prior to sentencing, as is the normal practice.

The mothers of the victims, Maria Keever and Milena Sellers, did not attend Friday's hearing.


