DA: Death Penalty Won't Be Sought in Marin Murder Case of Famed Sex Therapist

Marin County District Attorney Ed Berberian said Wednesday his office will not seek the death penalty against three defendants charged with two shooting murders in Marin County and San Francisco last year.

The defendants, Morrison Lampley, 23, Sean Angold, 24, both of San Rafael, and Lila Scott Alligood, 18, of San Rafael, face life in prison without parole if they are convicted of killing therapist Steven Carter near Fairfax and Canadian tourist Audrey Carey in Golden Gate Park in October 2015, Berberian said.

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"Based on the special circumstances alleged in these murders, if convicted, the three defendants faced, until today, the possibility of the death penalty," Berberian said in a news release Wednesday. "By removing the death penalty, each of these defendants now faces the possibility of serving life without the possibility of parole."

The defendants are charged with special circumstance allegations of multiple murder, lying in wait and murder while committing a robbery. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 9 in Marin County Superior Court.

Berberian said the victims' family members were consulted and taken into consideration, and law enforcement officers from San Francisco and Marin County joined in discussions before he arrived at a decision.

"Ultimately, the final decision rests with the District Attorney and after careful review and evaluation, the decision not to seek death was determined to be the most appropriate prosecution path based on the facts and surrounding circumstances of this particular case," he said.

Carter, 67, was found dead from gunshots in the Loma Alta Open Space Preserve on Oct. 5. He and his dog were shot while hiking, but the Doberman Pinscher survived.

Carey, of Quebec, was found lying face down in a bison paddock in Golden Gate Park on Oct. 3.

The defendants were arrested Oct. 7 outside a dining hall in Portland, Oregon after Carter's missing Volkswagen Jetta was tracked by GPS from a Point Reyes gas station to Portland.

Carter was a famous therapist, who specialized in “tantric sex.” He and his wife Lokita Carter founded the Lake County-based Ecstatic Living Institute in 1999 to teach tantric massage and yoga.

— Bay City News Service contributed to this report.