A 32-year-old father from California will be imprisoned for the remainder of his life for shooting and killing his four small children and their maternal grandmother in their family home almost three years ago, leaving the bodies for his wife to discover.
Germarcus L. David was found guilty on five charges of first-degree murder by a Los Angeles County jury on Tuesday.
The deaths occurred in 2021 and included the killings of 51-year-old Erika England, 11-year-old Namyiah David, 7-year-old Germarcus David Jr., 2-year-old Kayden David, and 1-year-old Noah David.
Jurors also found Germarcus David guilty on three charges of assault on a child resulting in death and acknowledged the aggravating circumstance of his having used a firearm in each of the murders, in addition to the exceptional circumstance of his committing multiple murders.
L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón released a statement saying, “I am deeply thankful to the dedicated jury and skilled trial lawyers who tirelessly sought justice in the Germarcus David case. The emotional challenge of presenting evidence of such senseless loss is immense. Their courage in pursuing accountability and closure for the victims and their family is truly commendable.”
Deputies from the L.A. Sheriff’s Office responded to a rescue call involving multiple shooting victims at a residence in the 3500 block of Garnet Lane in Lancaster, a city in the western Mojave Desert approximately 75 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, on Nov. 28, 2021, at approximately 10:27 of that evening. Already on the way to the scene were paramedics.
When first responders arrived at the address, they discovered a 50-year-old Black woman who would eventually be identified as England suffering from what appeared to be a gunshot wound “to the upper torso.”
Deputies then discovered three male juvenile victims and a female juvenile victim, all under the age of twelve, with upper torso gunshot wounds. According to the sheriff’s office, medical staff declared all five of the victims dead at the site.
Authorities alleged that Germarcus David, a certified security guard, left his mother-in-law’s and children’s bodies for his wife to discover in a truly horrific turn of events.
The woman entered the graphic scene left by her husband, and Reginald Beltran, a neighbor who lives three houses away, told Los Angeles CW station KTLA that he could hear her cries of anguish.
Beltran informed the broadcaster, “We can hear her screaming over the phone.” “My babies are dead,” she yelled. My infants have passed away.
Grace Beltran, Reginald Beltran’s wife, told KTLA that she observed the woman yelling, “My babies are gone!” as she rushed “back and forth in their front yard.” All of them are deceased.
The mother did not have a restraining order against Germarcus David, according to the authorities, and there was no history of domestic violence before the shootings.
Germarcus David went to the sheriff’s office and handed himself in after killing the people.
The Los Angeles Daily News said that during the trial, the prosecutors contended that Germarcus David was upset that the mother of the children was pursuing a divorce, having discovered that he had an extramarital affair and fathered a child with that woman.
He apparently left work early on the day of the shootings and proceeded to the family’s house. He is accused of firing twenty shots at the children and their grandma in the span of seven minutes after entering the house.
