Robert Holguin

Case record: Robert Holguin

Background

Robert Holguin was a 14-year-old boy convicted of murdering 87-year-old war veteran Gerald O'Malley.

Holguin had special needs, and he had been described as emotionally disturbed and extremely needy. Experts testified that he had brain damage, learning disabilities, and a very low IQ, and that he needed to learn skills to cope. A psychologist who testified for the defense, Robert Halon, added that Holguin must be punished for beating the victim to death.

The court records described Holguin’s father as an abusive alcoholic. Defense experts testified that Holguin desperately wanted a father figure and would be drawn to any strong man, good or bad.

The offence

Gerald O'Malley was beaten to death with a skateboard.

After the attack, Holguin went home, got a padlock, and locked O'Malley in his San Luis Obispo house to die in a pool of his own blood on the kitchen floor.

Investigation

Arrest

Trial

Juvenile Court Judge Teresa Estrada-Mullaney stated during sentencing that while Holguin looked shy and gentle, he was a murderer, and she said he posed a danger to society without the long term treatment he would receive in the Division of Juvenile Justice.

As Estrada-Mullaney read her ruling, Holguin hung his head low, nearly resting his forehead on the table before him, and his normally tanned face was red.

Defense attorney Theresa Klein argued after the ruling that it was “very concerning that he'll be put in a system that says it is broken by its own standards.” Klein said she planned to appeal Holguin’s conviction.

The judge allowed cameras in the courtroom because of the crime’s serious nature.

Sentencing

On May 5, 2006, a judge sentenced 14-year-old Robert Holguin to the state's Division of Juvenile Justice, formerly known as the California Youth Authority, until his 25th birthday.

Judge Teresa Estrada-Mullaney rejected claims that the agency couldn't rehabilitate the boy. She said: “I could say he doesn't look like a murderer," but "he is."

Defense attorney Theresa Klein had argued that Holguin, who had special needs, would benefit more from specialized treatment at a boys' home. Prosecutors and defense attorneys disagreed about how the system would shape Holguin after he was released.

A deputy district attorney, Andy Baird, said: “The Youth Authority is saving almost no one, even by their own experts analysis, and we're very afraid that he's not going to get the rehabilitation he'll need and that he's going to turn into a hardened criminal when he gets out.”

Deputy District Attorney Andy Baird also said: “It will be up to this young man to decide which way his life is going to turn,” and added that if he did not choose for whatever reason, any program would fail and he would come out and re-offend and be locked up again for a lot longer.

Prosecutor Andrew Baird said after the ruling that placing Holguin in alternatives such as a group home would seem like getting off easy.

Appeals

Defense attorney Theresa Klein planned to appeal Holguin’s conviction and the sentence.

Outcome

Holguin was sentenced to remain in the Division of Juvenile Justice until his 25th birthday.

Division authorities could hold Holguin until his 25th birthday, and depending on his behavior, he would likely be released by his 19th or 21st birthday. Both Baird and Klein said rehabilitation was important.

The Tribune did not name Holguin because he was a minor.

Aftermath

Holguin was scheduled to be transferred from Juvenile Hall to the DJJ's reception center. After he was evaluated there, he would be assigned to a specific facility somewhere in the state. The judge planned to recommend that Holguin be placed in the Paso Robles facility, where the average age of a ward was 17.

Division of Juvenile Justice parole board decision-making would determine whether Holguin could be released before his 25th birthday based on his rehabilitation.

After the ruling, Holguin and his mother spent time alone together. Klein said Holguin was “He's worried,” about her.

Defense attorney Theresa Klein stated that at the county Juvenile Services Center, Holguin had requested counseling services more than 100 times and was put on suicide watch three times. Klein also said Holguin once pounded on the doors of his room with his hands until they were bruised enough to require medical attention. Klein said Holguin had flourished with good behavior in the county center, which resulted in improving grades in school, but Klein said that help would not be available in a correctional facility.

Psychologist Robert Halon testified for the defense and said: “He doesn't know how to be.”

Halon also said that the boy must be punished for beating 87-year-old O'Malley with a skateboard on Feb. 26 of last year.

“This young man needs punishment,” prosecutor Andrew Baird said after the ruling, noting Halon's warning that an alternative sentence such as a group home would, for the boy, seem like getting off easy. “I am hopeful he will learn to make the right choice,” Baird said. “And if he does not choose so for whatever reason, any program is going to fail and he's going to come out and re-offend, and be locked up again for a lot longer.” “It will be up to this young man to decide which way his life is going to turn,” said Deputy District Attorney Andy Baird. “The Youth Authority is saving almost no one, even by their own experts analysis, and we're very afraid that he's not going to get the rehabilitation he'll need and that he's going to turn into a hardened criminal when he gets out, ” said defense attorney Theresa Klein. “I could say he doesn't look like a murderer," Juvenile Court Judge Teresa Estrada-Mullaney said, "but he is.” “He doesn't know how to be,” Halon said.

Timeline

• May 2, 2006 — Attorneys tried to convince the judge where Robert Holguin should spend the next several years after beating to death 87-year-old war veteran Gerald O'Malley.
• May 5, 2006 — A judge sentenced 14-year-old Robert Holguin to the state's Division of Juvenile Justice until his 25th birthday.
• May 6, 2006 — A judge ruled after rejecting claims the agency couldn't rehabilitate Holguin, and ordered him to a corrections center for children, with the next several years at a state corrections facility for children.