Trial for Castlewood Double Murder Will Begin Nov. 1

The trial of a son accused in the 2008 murder of his parents in their Pleasanton home has been set for Nov. 1.

The trial for Ernest Scherer III, 32, was set to begin Aug. 23 at the René C. Davidson Courthouse in Oakland, but Judge Morris Jacobson delayed the case to allow Scherer's defense team and prosecutors more time to prepare their cases.

Investigators reported in court records that Scherer killed his parents, Ernest Scherer Jr. and Charlene Abendroth, in March 2008 to cash in on a $1.5-million inheritance.  Scherer was tens of thousands of dollars in debt, according to investigators, who also reported that he tried to buy a gun just weeks before his parents were found stabbed and beaten in their home on Castlewood Drive.

Scherer was arrested in Las Vegas in February 2009 and is being held at Santa Rita Jail on two counts of murder.  He faces the death penalty if convicted because of two special-circumstance allegations: multiple murder and murder for financial gain.

Attorney Richard Fox will represent Scherer and Michael K. Nieto will prosecute the case for the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.  Jacobson also issued a gag order on the trial, meaning attorneys and prosecutors are barred from out-of-court discussion of the trial with media.