A probationer accused of fatally shooting his 66-year-old aunt at her French Valley home was charged Thursday with murder.
Brandon Chase Trappen, 31, was arrested Saturday for the alleged slaying of Deborah Moyer.
Along with the murder count, Trappen is charged with a sentence-enhancing gun use allegation.
He’s being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside and was slated to make his initial court appearance Thursday afternoon at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
According to Riverside County Sheriff’s Sgt. Walter Mendez, about 9:30 a.m. Saturday, deputies were called to the victim’s residence in the 37000 block of Applegate Road — only a quarter-mile southeast of the Murrieta courthouse — to investigate reports of an assault, but instead found Moyer dead.
Trappen was at the scene and spoke with investigators, after which he was arrested without incident, Mendez said.
Mendez said Trappen had been living with his aunt for an unspecified period. However, a possible motive for the alleged attack was not disclosed.
Trappen has prior misdemeanor convictions for driving under the influence of a controlled substance and driving under the influence of alcohol.