A 68-year-old man was sentenced Friday, March 28 to 15 years to life in prison for fatally beating his longtime live-in girlfriend in their Anaheim mobile home.
Raymond Eugene Craft was convicted Jan. 28 of second-degree murder and inflicting injury on an elder adult, both felonies, with a sentencing enhancement for death of a victim older than 70.
Craft was convicted of killing 72-year-old Deborah Brutsche on Feb. 24, 2024.
“He was her longtime boyfriend,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Mark Birney told jurors in his opening statement of the trial. “They had been together for about 32 years.”
Someone concerned about Brutsche called police Feb. 26 of last year, and when officers arrived at 41 Spruce Via in the Rancho La Paz mobile home park, they were greeted by a “somewhat intoxicated” Craft, who was getting into the couple’s car, Birney said.
When the officers asked him about Brutsche, “He tells the officers, ‘She’s been dead for a couple of days,”‘ Birney said.
The officers found the victim in the kitchen of the home covered by a blanket, Birney said. The victim was “badly bruised,” and the defendant’s hand was swollen, Birney added.
Police also recovered videos and photos from the defendant’s phone showing the victim’s injuries, Birney said.
An autopsy showed she suffered broken ribs, lacerations to her liver and injuries to her pancreas and spinal cord. The injuries were “consistent with a high-speed traffic collision,” Birney said. The prosecutor added that Brutsche “died of being beaten to death by Mr. Craft.”
Craft’s attorney, Allison Chan of the Orange County Public Defender’s Office, told jurors there was no confession or evidence that anyone saw Craft beating the victim. She also said there was no evidence “to show a shoe or heel impression” to prove the victim was stomped upon, as the prosecution alleged.
Brutsche had “medical issues,” such as a stroke and osteoporosis, Chan said.
“The evidence is not going to show where this happened,” Chan said. “Just that she was found there.”
In the end, jurors “will not be able to find (the prosecution) has proven beyond a reasonable doubt” that Craft is guilty, Chan said.