LOCAL : Huntington Beach Teen-Ager Guilty in Murder of Roommate
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A Huntington Beach teen-ager was convicted today of shooting to death his roommate and then setting fire to his body in an attempt to conceal the crime.
An Orange County Superior Court jury in Santa Ana deliberated for three days before finding Brian Applegate, 17, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Paul Londono, 25, on Jan. 8, 1989.
Applegate maintained that he had to kill Londono to end a terror-filled homosexual relationship in which he was beaten and raped.
Applegate faces a maximum penalty of 27 years to life in prison. Because of his age, however, Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzgerald could sentence Applegate to the California Youth Authority rather than state prison, Deputy Dist. Atty. Patrick Donahue said.
The boy was tried as an adult although he was 16 when he killed Londono, his companion and roommate with whom he had come to Southern California from Daytona Beach, Fla., in 1988.
After the murder, Applegate stuffed Londono into a sleeping bag and drove to the bottom of a cliff, where he poured gasoline on the body and set it afire.
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