A California man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after killing his 16-year-old former classmate — who allegedly got him expelled from school in 2019.
The body of Aranda Briones still hasn’t been found, adding intrigue to a case that shocked the nation nearly six years ago. But the family was able to gain at least a semblance of closure on Friday after Superior Court Judge Timothy J. Hollenhorst sentenced him to the second-highest penalty allowable under the law. (The first would have been death.)
“There are many questions left unanswered, none more than where is Aranda?” Hollenhorst told Owen Shover, 23, as he announced the sentence. “Mr. Shover, from what I can tell about you, it appears that you are not capable of feeling remorse, so I do not intend to lecture you on how devastating your actions were in this case. However, there is no question in this court’s mind that you are the face of pure evil.”
“There are many questions left unanswered, none more than where is Aranda?” Hollenhorst told Owen Shover, 23, as he announced the sentence. “Mr. Shover, from what I can tell about you, it appears that you are not capable of feeling remorse, so I do not intend to lecture you on how devastating your actions were in this case. However, there is no question in this court’s mind that you are the face of pure evil
Shover was said to have ambushed Aranda, killing her before taking her body up a mountain with his brother and burying her
The statement was a shocking one from a judge widely considered to be one of the most easygoing Superior Court judges in Riverside County, from where the case originated.
Aranda went missing on Jan. 13, 2019. Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin argued that Shover kidnapped her and killed her for an incident that had occurred about 14 months prior — both students were skipping school at a park when the police rolled up.
Everyone ran, but Shover reportedly tossed a gun to Aranda, who tossed it into a ravine. Aranda then told the police that the gun belonged to Shover, and both were expelled from school. Neither was prosecuted, howeve
