The ‘Malibu Sniper’ who shot and killed a 35-year-old father as he camped with his two toddler daughters has been sentenced to 119 years to life in prison.
On Wednesday, Anthony Rauda, 46, was sentenced for the murder of Tristan Beaudette, who was shot at the Malibu Creek State Park in June 2018.
Rauda was convicted of second-degree murder and multiple other charges on May 26 in a series of shootings that terrorized campers in the area.
The investigation into the 35-year-old chemist’s death uncovered several other shootings in the area. The park was shut down while police hunted the killer.
Rauda had pleaded not guilty to in the murder of the man, who was a ‘devoted husband and father whose life revolved’ around his family, his wife said in 2019.
On Wednesday, Anthony Rauda, 46, was sentenced for the murder of Tristan Beaudette who was shot at the Malibu Creek State Park in June 2018. Pictured: Rauda in court on June 7
Beaudette (top left) was camping with his two-year-old and four-year-old daughters when he was fatally shot by Rauda in June of 2018. Pictured: Beaudette with his wife and daughters
On Wednesday, Rauda appeared in an orange prison jumpsuit while strapped down to a chair that was rolled in and out of the Los Angeles courtroom.
He wore glasses that were visible beneath a mesh net that had been placed over his neck and face while LA Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter read his sentence. The net, called a spit guard, prevents inmates from spitting on or biting those nearby.
Along with his murder conviction, the vagrant who lived in the wilderness was found guilty of three attempted murder charges.
Two of those counts involved Beaudette’s daughters who were not struck by the gunfire but were awakened by gunfire and watched their father die.
The man was also convicted of five counts of second-degree commercial burglary.
Prosecutors said Rauda had terrorized the Malibu campground since November 2016, when he shot a man who was sleeping in a hammock.
Around the same time, he fired a shot at a vehicle’s sleeping area.
Additionally, he was accused of shooting into vehicles on three separate occasions in 2017. No injuries were reported stemming from those incidents.
The ‘survivalist’ was eventually arrested in October of 2018 on suspicion of burglary after law enforcement saw him carrying a rifle through the park.
Rauda appeared in an orange prison jumpsuit while strapped down to a chair that was rolled in and out of the Los Angeles courtroom
He wore glasses that were visible beneath a mesh net that was placed over his neck and face while LA Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter read his sentence
Along with his murder conviction, the vagrant who lived in the wilderness (pictured above) was found guilty on three attempted murder charges
The investigation into the death of Beaudette (pictured) uncovered several other shootings in the area. The was shut down while police hunted the killer
Beaudette’s fatal shooting occurred at the Malibu Creek State Park in the Los Angeles area
The Los Angeles jury acquitted Rauda on seven additional attempted murder charges in the other Malibu campground incidents.
Prosecutors had been hoping the jury would convict him on a first-degree murder count for Beaudette’s killing but he was ultimately convicted of second-degree.
A first-degree charge indicates that a person intends to kill another with their actions, while a second-degree charge implies a person knows their actions could be fatal.
The judge had initially sentenced Rauda to 142 years to life but after meeting with attorneys, said that a calculating error had been made and revised the total.
The sentencing marks an end to the lengthy and tumultuous trial in which Rauda was at one point thrown out of the courtroom for theatrics.
In March of 2022, the convicted murderer threatened Judge Charlaine Olmedo.
He tried to file motions on his own behalf, NBC 4 reported, despite having a defense attorney to represent him.
‘The court will not entertain any of those motions at this time,’ Olmedo said.
After ejecting him from the room and announcing she would see him next at his September 2022 court room, Rauda came back with an apparent threat.
‘You’ll be seeing me before that … You sure will,’ Rauda replied.
The Los Angeles jury acquitted Rauda on seven additional attempted murder charges in the other Malibu campground incidents. Pictured: Rauda on the day he was arrested in 2018
At one point during his trial, Rauda was thrown out of court for antics
In 2019, Beaudette’s widow Erica Wu filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department alleging they neglected to alert the public over safety concerns at the Malibu campground prior to her husband’s shooting.
Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Mark H. Epstein threw out the case in 2021, however, telling Wu she would need more concrete evidence for her claims.
The widow said the law enforcement agency intentionally hid information regarding the incidents leading up to the June 2018 shooting.
‘Had decedent Tristan Beaudette known of the prior shootings, he would have never brought himself or his young daughters to camp, thereby putting his daughters and himself at severe risk, at Malibu Creek State Park,’ her lawsuit claimed.
