‘Get shovels and lighter fluid ready’: Man killed former friend and classmate for getting him expelled from high school

Owen Skyler Shover is flanked by two images of Aranda Isabel Briones

Left to right: Aranda Briones (Facebook/Justice for Aranda Isabel Briones), Owen Shover (Riverside County Sheriff’s Department), Briones at school (Moreno Valley Police Department).

A California man will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars for the disappearance and revenge murder of a classmate who he blamed for getting him expelled from high school several years ago.

Owen Skyler Shover, 23, hails from Hesperia, a large city in San Bernardino County, located some 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

In January 2019, the defendant killed Aranda Isabel Briones, 16, and then buried her somewhere in the unforgiving San Bernardino Mountains nearby. To date, the girl’s remains have never been found.

On Wednesday, Shover was convicted by a jury of his peers on one count of murder in the first degree, along with a special circumstance of lying in wait. Under Golden State law, special circumstances are essentially sentencing enhancements that, if applied, must result in one of two outcomes: life in prison or the death penalty.

You May Also Like

DeSantis Sours on ICE Poaching Local Police with $50,000 Bonuses

A member of the Los Angeles occupation force. (Wikimedia Commons) Gov. Ron…

Murder Trial to Begin for Former Navy JAG Officer Accused of Killing, Dismembering Wife

The murder trial for a naval officer, Nicholas Kassotis, accused of murdering…

'Usurping a core state police power': Trump admin 'improperly weaponized' federal laws to attack transgender youth and 'lifesaving' medical providers, states say

Left: New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference…

Ethan Chapin’s Mother: Kohberger Plea ‘Outcome Is the Right One’

The mother of Ethan Chapin, one of four University of Idaho students…