A jury found Camden Burton Nicholson guilty of three counts of first-degree murder in a case that has gripped Newport Beach, California, for years, marking a grim resolution to the brutal family murders that took the lives of his parents and their longtime housekeeper.
The killings occurred over two days in February 2019. Prosecutors said Nicholson, 34, stabbed his father, Richard Nicholson, 64, multiple times after his parents urged him to seek help for mental health and addiction struggles. He then attacked his mother, Kim Nicholson, 61, striking her with a metal statue and stabbing her repeatedly. The following morning, housekeeper Maria Morse, 57, was also killed inside the family’s home.
Authorities described the crime scene as horrific. “There was so much blood, the defendant tried to soak it up with a bag of flour,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Dave Porter. Nicholson then reportedly took the family car on a spending spree before calling 911 and claiming self-defense.
Defense attorneys argued Nicholson suffered from schizoaffective disorder, citing hospitalizations and psychiatric treatment dating back to 2012. They emphasized delusions and mental health struggles that, in their view, made him incapable of understanding his actions.
The trial now moves into the sanity phase, which will determine whether Nicholson is sentenced to life in prison without parole or committed to a state mental hospital. For a community still reeling from the violence, the outcome will close a chapter on a horrifying episode of domestic violence and mental health tragedy.
