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Haloa Beaudet
A blurred screenshot of Haloa Beaudet, 17, who is facing murder charges in the Nov. 23 slaying of Lisa Thorborg. Screenshot by Steve Puterski
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Judge releases name of Carlsbad murder suspect, case details

REGION — A Carlsbad teenage boy facing murder charges for the killing of Lisa Thorborg appeared in a juvenile courtroom on Dec. 22 in downtown San Diego.

Judge Richard Monroy ruled the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office presented enough evidence to move the case forward, while the suspect, Haloa Beaudet, 17, was not released.

The next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 25.

Beaudet is accused of stabbing Carlsbad resident Lisa Thorborg, 68, twice in the neck on Nov. 23 in Hosp Grove Park. Carlsbad police arrested Beaudet on Dec. 14, several days after he was questioned about Thorborg’s murder.

Debby Kirkwood, Beaudet’s attorney, said her client was not a threat and presented Beaudet’s grandmother Christie Hernandez and great uncle Ray Bercini as character witnesses. Hernandez said Beaudet came to live with her and her husband in September after moving from Oregon where Beaudet’s mother lives.

She said he is a loving, caring, easy-going teenager with a sense of humor and affectionate personality with a love of the outdoors. Bercini, a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detective, also said he had no fears about overseeing Beaudet if he were released.

“There have been no issues of violence and he’s followed the rules,” Hernandez said of the living situation.

However, Deputy District Attorney Helen Kim painted a different picture, noting Beaudet was suspended “multiple times” for fighting at school in Oregon. Prior to moving to Oregon, Beaudet lived in Hawaii with his maternal grandmother, who sent him to a boarding school.

Kim said Beaudet twice ran away from the school, although Hernandez said her grandson enrolled in the school to earn his diploma early with hopes of joining the military.

When Beaudet moved to Carlsbad, he enrolled in an online home school, Hernandez said. He was to live with the Hernandez’s for six months, at which time the family would re-evaluate the situation.

Kim said Beaudet’s mother was looking to move him back to Oregon and was researching how to transfer schools.

“On Dec. 10, he fled from police,” Kim said, Kim objecting to his release due to the nature of the allegations.

Kirkwood said Beaudet typically ran or exercised on the same trail in Hosp Grove Park and it doesn’t make sense he would consistently return to the scene of the crime.

Carlsbad police detective Josh Bubins detailed how police arrested Beaudet roughly three weeks after the murder. Bubins said police found Beaudet’s DNA on Thorborg’s shorts and also on a pair of flip-flops found at the scene.

Kirkwood said the DNA could have come from Thorborg sitting on a nearby log, which her client may have sat. Kirkwood said investigators were reaching their conclusion the DNA was definitive proof Beaudet killed Thorborg.

Bubins said cameras also showed Beaudet running away from the scene 15 minutes after the murder occurred, which police believe was at 11:10 a.m.

Police received a 9-1-1 call at 11:23 a.m. on Nov. 23 notifying them Thorborg’s body had been discovered.

Bubins said Carlsbad Police retraced Beaudet’s steps from 10:21 a.m. when he was dropped off in his grandmother’s SUV at Hosp Grove Park. The detective said Beaudet frequented the trail to exercise and his typical routine began with being dropped off by a family member before walking home.

Bubins said police arrested Beaudet after authorities were called for a report about a prowler on the morning of Dec. 10. Bubins said when officers arrived, they attempted to stop Beaudet to ask questions, but the teen fled. Beaudet was then caught and taken to the police department for questioning.

Bubins said the table was sanitized in case a DNA link was needed. During questioning, Beaudet said at first he hadn’t left a pair of flip-flops at the scene, but then later admitted leaving them. Beaudet told Bubins he wasn’t worried about leaving his footwear because he doesn’t believe in “material things.”

Police also have video footage and the prosecutor presented several still images from the video footage on Dec. 2 and Dec. 10. The cameras, which were set up on Dec. 2, recorded Beaudet “almost” daily at the park.

The video showed Beaudet walking the trail, peering into the yards of residents, lifting up door handles on cars and talking to himself, according to Bubins.

However, Kirkwood said four different types of DNA were found on Thorborg’s body, which was confirmed by Bubins and only a small percentage belonged to her client. Beaudet’s attorney claimed the arrest occurred because her client just happened to be on the trail.

According to the police report, Thorborg was stabbed twice in the neck cutting her carotid artery causing “a lethal injury.”

Thorborg was dressed in running attire, according to the report, and there “appeared to be no signs of a struggle.”

Bubins said Thorborg had all her possessions and it did not appear a robbery or sexual assault had taken place.