Man gets 55 years to life in death of co-defendant’s mother

A man convicted of killing a San Diego woman as part of a scheme hatched with the victim’s son to acquire $1.5 million she had in a trust account was sentenced Wednesday to 55 years to life in state prison.

Luther Brown, 53, was convicted by a San Diego Superior Court jury along with Brendan Conrad Doyle, 27, of murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the October 2020 strangulation slaying of 65-year-old Laura Doyle. Brendan Doyle, who was also convicted of identity theft and robbery, was sentenced last year to 28 years and eight months to life in prison.

Prosecutors say the men met while in county jail, then concocted the plan to kill the victim.

Laura Doyle was found dead in her home on Bloch Street in the University City neighborhood. Investigators initially believed was a natural death, due to there being no obvious injuries.

Deputy District Attorney Jaimie Thomas said that Laura Doyle’s neighbors, however, were aware that she had experienced abusive behavior from her son, which included repeated instances of loud, audible shouting coming from the home.

The District Attorney’s Office also said that in the year before her death, Brendan Doyle choked his mother in order to force her to write him two checks totaling $1,000.

In the days after she died, a neighbor called the District Attorney’s Office and said, “If she is dead, her son killed her,” according to Thomas.

A follow-up investigation and autopsy revealed the victim suffered a litany of injuries including fractures to her ribs and hyoid bone. Thomas said that per the medical examiner, the force of the strangulation was strong enough to cause the victim’s spine to break.

According to the prosecutor, Brown entered the home in the middle of the night and “brutally murdered” the victim, but left behind DNA evidence on her clothes in the process. Subsequent investigation into Brown and Brendan Doyle’s electronic devices revealed messages between the two in which they discussed Doyle’s mother and how to gain entry to the residence.

The District Attorney’s Office said that before his arrest, Brown described himself as a “contract killer” and “bragged to a roommate about killing someone for a friend back in fall of 2020.”

Brendan Doyle also spent over $11,000 on his mother’s credit card after she died, prosecutors said.

Defense attorney Marlea Dell’Anno, who did not represent Brown during the trial but represented him at Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, said Brendan Doyle was the “mastermind” behind the killing and cited Doyle’s history of being physically and verbally abusive to his mother.

“Sadly, justice was not served today. Mr. Brown looks forward to litigating his appeal and addressing the numerous issues that prevented him from having a fair trial in this matter,” Dell’Anno told the Union-Tribune.

Brendan Doyle has already filed his notice of intent to appeal. Doyle’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Thomas argued that the communications between Brown and Doyle showed the opposite conclusion, that Brown was “the aggressive individual, dominating Mr. Doyle” and was “calling the shots” regarding the murder.

Union-Tribune staff contributed to this report.