Crime & Safety
Mother, Son Guilty In 2013 Landlord Murder
Prosecutors say Daniel Cohen killed landlord Gordon Smith by gunshot, twice to the head. His mother, Diana Cohen, provided the gun.
SANTA CRUZ - A mother and son have been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of their landlord, Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeffrey S. Rossell announced Friday.
Prosecutors said Diana and Daniel Cohen were tenants in a Santa Cruz property managed by Gordon Smith.
On Nov. 8, 2013, the Cohens took a car for a test drive from a dealership, retrieved Diana Cohen’s gun and waited for Smith in a Capitola parking lot outside his work before Daniel Cohen shot and killed him, prosecutors said.
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Daniel Cohen fired four shots at Smith, two to the victim’s head.
The Cohens were found guilty of first-degree murder on Friday following a trial that started in November.
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On April 21, the Cohens are scheduled to be sentenced, prosecutors said.
-Bay City News Service, images via SCCSO
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