Man on retrial in Rancho Peñasquitos condo slaying convicted of second-degree murder

A man charged with breaking into a woman’s Rancho Peñasquitos condominium and killing her was convicted of second-degree murder Friday.

A San Diego jury deliberated for just over three days before finding Parrish Juan Chambers Jr., 47, guilty for the June 2022 killing of 45-year-old Nahal Connie Dadkhah. The trial was Chambers’ second in connection with Dadkhah’s death.

Prosecutors alleged Chambers smashed through a window to gain access to Dadkhah’s home and beat her to death. Chambers’ defense attorney, Abram Genser, argued any injuries Chambers may have inflicted were not life-threatening, and Dadkhah died instead of a brain bleed caused by excessive methamphetamine use.

Genser told jurors his client and Dadkhah were in a toxic, romantic relationship and that on the night of June 14, an excessively intoxicated Chambers got into the residence, where an “altercation” occurred, but said the pair made up afterwards.

Dadkhah, 45, was found dead on a couch inside her Twin Trails Drive home on the morning of June 15 after Chambers told one of Dadkhah’s neighbors that she wasn’t breathing and asked him to call 911.

While several neighbors called 911 on the night of June 14 to report the disturbance, officers who responded to the condo ultimately did not enter the residence and left the scene, sparking public criticism and a lawsuit from Dadkhah’s family.

In a news release announcing Chambers’ arrest, police said officers went to the condo on a report of a disturbance involving Chambers, but left after being unable to confirm a crime had occurred or being unable to make contact with anyone inside.

Last year, another San Diego jury acquitted Chambers of first-degree murder but deadlocked after more than three days of deliberation on lesser counts of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. The same jury did, however, convict Chambers of battery and false imprisonment for other prior altercations in which prosecutors said Chambers pushed, grabbed and choked Dadkhah.

After her death, an autopsy revealed blunt force injuries to Dadkhah’s head and more than 50 bruises and cuts, Deputy District Attorney Trisha Amador said. Genser argued that those injuries did not contribute to her death and that there was no evidence of a beating taking place in the condo. The defense attorney said a fatal beating would have resulted in the presence of Dadkhah’s blood, but he said any blood found in the condo was Chambers’ due to cutting himself on the broken window.

Chambers is slated to be sentenced in November.