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District Attorney: Teen suspected of murdering Carlsbad hiker should be charged as an adult

Defendant Haloa Beaudet was arrested when he was 17 years old. He is now 18.

CARLSBAD, Calif. — The teenager accused of stabbing 68-year-old Lisa Thorborg to death back in 2020 appeared in juvenile court Monday afternoon.

18-year-old Haloa Beaudet is charged with murder

On Monday, a spokesperson for the San Diego District Attorney’s Office told CBS 8 it filed a motion to have Beaudet's case transferred to adult court. 

The decision will be up to the judge. 

A hearing was scheduled for 1:15 p.m on May 23rd. A decision was not expected Monday on whether to try the teen as an adult. A future court date on the matter was set at July 18. 

RELATED: Carlsbad police arrest 17-year-old for stabbing murder of hiker on Hosp Grove Trail

WATCH RELATED: Police arrest 17-year-old teen for murdering a hiker on a popular Carlsbad trail.

"The strongest factor is the type of crime that is committed. So if it’s a shoplifting [crime] or something small, they give the juvenile a chance to get rehabilitated," said longtime criminal defense attorney Gretchen Von Helms who is not associated with the case.

"There have been studies that someone’s brain doesn’t develop until they’re 26 years of age, that’s one of the factors the judge also considers," she added.

Beaudet was 17 when he was arrested for Thorborg's murder back in December 2020. The crime happened along the Hosp Grove Trail in Carlsbad.

WATCH RELATED: Teen murder suspect pleads not guilty.

During the preliminary hearing, prosecutors told the judge Beaudet's DNA was found on Thorborg's clothing.

Prosecutors also said they have surveillance footage from a nearby camera that show images of a male resembling the defendant running away from the park about 15 minutes after police believe Thorborg was killed.

However, Beaudet's public defender argued that investigators found DNA from two other people on Thorborg's shorts. She also argued his DNA could have been transferred to the victim's clothing because both Thorborg and Beaudet may have sat on the same log at the crime scene.

The motive in the murder still remains a mystery.

According to police, there was no sign of a struggle at the scene and the victim was not robbed nor was she sexually assaulted.

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