The son of a veteran state Department of Corrections officer accused of beating her nearly to death with a baseball bat has been charged with attempted murder as his mother clings to life.
Seth White, 18, of Anaheim was charged Thursday with attempted murder with sentencing enhancements for premeditation and the personal use of a deadly weapon. White is likely to face an upgraded charge of murder if his mother dies, Senior Deputy District Attorney Eric Scarbrough said.
White’s arraignment Thursday was rescheduled for June 9.
Physicians are pessimistic that the defendant’s mother, Karen White, will recover, Anaheim police Sgt. Daron Wyatt and Scarbrough said.
Police were called just before 8:50 p.m. Tuesday by neighbors in the Friendly Village Mobile Home Park, 5815 La Palma Ave., who reported the sounds of a domestic assault, Wyatt said.
When officers arrived, neighbors said they saw Seth White fleeing with a baseball bat, Wyatt said. White apparently made his getaway on a skateboard, Scarbrough said.
Police forced their way into the home when they looked through a window and saw the victim on the floor suffering wounds consistent with “blunt force trauma,” Wyatt said.
Karen White — a 20-year employee of the Department of Corrections — was taken to an area hospital in “extremely critical” condition, Wyatt said.
As police were setting up a perimeter to search for the victim’s son, he called authorities to say he knew they were looking for him and that he was on the nearby Santa Ana River Trail, where he was found and taken into custody.
–City News Service