Police in Arizona filed charges against the two homeowners who hosted a Halloween party attended by Preston Lord and his attackers who allegedly beat him dead.
Up to 200 people were present at the October 28 party, according to the Queen Creek Police Department. The homeowners said the event was intended to be a modest gathering arranged by their teen daughter, at their Queen Creek home.
“We did submit charges on the homeowners the same time we sent the other charges to the county attorney. So they’re under review,” Queen Creek PD Chief Randy Brice told 12News.
Brice declined to disclose which specific charges were filed, adding that they are not “done with a review.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Treston Billey, 18; Jacob Meisner, 17; Talan Renner, 17; Taylor Sherman, 19; Dominic Turner, 20; William Owen Hines, 18; and Talyn Vigil, 17, have been charged with murder and kidnapping. Turner and Meisner are facing an additional charge of robbery.
Lord passed away two days after the brutal attack. None of the seven defendants knew the victim.
When asked if investigators obtained DNA evidence linking the defendants to the crime, Brice said the details would be presented at the trial.
“I won’t go into detail about that because it’s going to be for the trial and we haven’t released those records yet. We did gather some DNA and there’s an analysis, but I’m not going to go into details on that but it is a part of our investigation,” he said.
A 1,200-page police report indicated that one of the defendants, Renner, was withdrawn from school the day after Lord died. Renner’s father, Travis Renner, allegedly sent his son to their family cabin in Show Low just days after Lord’s death.
The cabin was described as a $850,000 family vacation home, where Renner stayed to allow his hand injuries to heal, according to the police report.
Preston Lord Report Waterma… by Leigh Egan
“The fact that that occurred, that person was taken out of town, you have to remember we have to look at it was there some criminal aspect to it? So we’re investigating,” Brice explained.
“If we find something that’s criminal, we will send that information the county attorney for charges, but still under investigation. But we’re not jumping to conclusions. But we’re fully investigating.”
Buono didn’t provide the specifics of the involvement of each suspect in the assault, emphasizing that information would surface during the trial.
It took investigators several months to identify the suspects, prompting anger among residents. Some of them claimed that the influential families of the boys were obstructing the course of justice.
All seven suspects pleaded not guilty and are due back in court on April 30.
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[Feature Photo: Preston Lord/”Justice for Preston Lord“]
