Man accused of SLO murder-for-hire also threatened to kill his ex’s new boyfriend, DA says
A man headed to trial in San Luis Obispo accused of a murder-for-hire solicitation plot allegedly told his ex-girlfriend that he could have her new boyfriend killed, but opted not to.
According to a legal brief filed by the county District Attorney’s Office, Beau Brigham of Riverside allegedly wrote a Facebook message to his ex-girlfriend saying that he “would have had him killed,” referring to her new boyfriend.
But Brigham’s defense attorney said the messages are irrelevant to the pending legal case and don’t indicate any desire to harm the man.
Brigham is accused of logging on to the dark web to hire a hitman to murder his stepmother, a San Luis Obispo resident, and his trial is scheduled to begin this week.
Deputy District Attorney Michael Frye filed a brief stating that Brigham told his ex-girlfriend in emails he hated her for “putting me through hell” and that her new boyfriend “cheated death because anyone in my position suffering on the level I was and am being talked to like that would have had this idiot killed for fun at that point.”
In another email, Frye alleged Brigham wrote in a Facebook message: “I would have had him killed for talking s--- to the wrong terminally ill person, but I’m not evil and you mean nothing to me.”
Brigham has pleaded not guilty to solicitation of murder of his stepmother, and faces a court hearing Wednesday to determine whether certain evidence is admitted into his jury trial, which is scheduled to begin Thursday.
Brigham’s alleged plot unraveled after Chris Monteiro, who describes himself as a cyber-crime, dark web and internet security researcher, discovered the plan and notified the media, according to a CBS News “48 Hours” segment on the case.
Brigham, 33, claims to have serious medical problems and told CBS News that he didn’t remember accessing the murder-for-hire website on the dark web, though he told the reporter that “there was only one way to get anyone’s f------ attention and to do something stupid on a f------ site was the only way.”
The statements Brigham made to his ex-girlfriend are “relevant to intent to kill and motive,” Frye wrote in his brief.
“This evidence also demonstrates that the idea of using a hitman was not a novel or isolated idea to the defendant,” Frye added.
Defense attorney’s response
A gag order in the case has been issued by Judge Jesse Marino, but Brigham’s attorney Ilan Funke-Bilu wrote in a response filed with the court that the statements attributed to his client have “no significance” to the court charges.
“There is no issue as to (the boyfriend) because what the defendant would have done has no significance when the following clause clearly states that he would, in fact, not kill him: ‘I’m not evil and you mean nothing to me.’”
Funke-Bilu added the emails from Brigham professing hate toward his ex-girlfriend are “superfluous and irrelevant,” adding they would be prejudicial to a jury.
“Devoting valuable court time to an old dating relationship would require delving into the relationship not only between the ex and the defendant but also as between the ex, her new boyfriend and the defendant,” Funke-Bilu wrote.
According to “48 Hours,” Beau Brigham and his stepmother became estranged following the death of his father, Saratoga bar and nightclub owner Jeff Brigham, in 2011. Beau Brigham and his older brother, Brandon, sued their stepmother in 2015, CBS News says, winning a “significant judgment” against her.
In addition, Beau Brigham harbored anger stemming from the belief that his stepmother hadn’t financially supported him as he struggled with serious health problems, CBS News’ Peter Van Sant said.
“She left her own son to f------ die for four years. Who does that?” Brigham told Van Sant in an interview conducted at San Luis Obispo County Jail.
“This person is evil,” Brigham allegedly wrote in his internet “kill order.” “Look, I need this f------ person dead.”
In Frye’s filing, he noted that the defense will attempt to call a psychologist to testify that Brigham suffers from a delusional disorder and lacks the capacity to plan a murder.
Frye wrote that forensic neuropsychologist Catherine Ward concluded that Brigham “lacked the capacity to plan a murder due to his fixation on his illness and desperation for attention. He never wanted to kill anyone; he wanted people to believe in him.”
“This type of opinion by an expert — whether or not the defendant actually intended to kill the victim — is expressly prohibited by penal code sections 28 and 29 because it invades the providence of a jury,” Frye contended.
The trial is expected to begin at 8:30 a.m. Thursday in Marino’s court.
Tribune staff reporters Matt Fountain and Sarah Linn contributed to this story.
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