Man found insane in grandmother's killing in El Monte

A judge has ruled that a man who was charged with murdering his 89-year-old grandmother in El Monte was insane at the time of the crime.

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Charles Lawrence Parsons, now 34, was arrested by El Monte police early Dec. 15, 2021, in connection with the attack on Mabel Dunia.

Police found the woman suffering from "significant trauma to the upper body" after being called to the home late the night before on a welfare check, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said soon after Parsons' arrest.

The woman was taken to a hospital, where she died Dec. 15, 2021, of "blunt traumatic injuries," according to records from the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner.

Police received information about a possible suspect, and he was located, detained and arrested in connection with the killing, according to the sheriff's department.

Parsons -- who had pleaded not guilty Tuesday by reason of insanity -- is due back July 19 before Superior Court Judge Douglas Sortino. A hearing is set then to determine where he should be housed, court records show.

He could face a maximum confinement of life in the Department of State Hospitals, according to the court records.

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