Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced that a 16-year-old juvenile was found guilty today of willful, deliberate, and premeditated first-degree murder for the June 2025 killing of Davy Glen Pichel, who was sleeping outside a church in Oxnard. The minor was 14 years old at the time of the offense.
A second juvenile charged in the case, who was also 14 years old at the time, previously pled guilty to first-degree murder in January 2026, and was sentenced to the maximum base term under California law of seven years in the Secured Youth Treatment Facility.
“This was an exceptionally brutal and senseless attack on a vulnerable member of our community,” said Deputy District Attorney Juliet Buff, who prosecuted the contested jurisdictional hearing. “Today’s verdict ensures that both juveniles have now been held accountable for Mr. Pichel’s murder. While no court outcome can restore the life that was taken, we hope this result provides Mr. Pichel’s loved ones with a measure of justice.”
On June 5, 2025, Mr. Pichel was found deceased outside St. Anthony’s Catholic Church on C Street in Oxnard. A church volunteer discovered him near the church’s side entrance with significant injuries to his head and face. He was also partially unclothed. Paramedics responded and pronounced Mr. Pichel dead at the scene. Church security video captured the attack, showing the two juveniles approach Mr. Pichel while he sat near the church entrance next to his wheelchair. The evidence presented in juvenile court established that the minors repeatedly beat and stomped Mr. Pichel, walking away and returning multiple times to continue the assault. The case was investigated by the Oxnard Police Department.
The minor was sentenced on July 13, 2026, at the Juvenile Justice Center in Oxnard. He was sentenced to seven years in the Secured Youth Treatment Facility.
Under California law, a juvenile who commits a murder may be committed to the Secured Youth Treatment Facility for four to seven years. No matter what the sentence, the juvenile court only has jurisdiction over a person until the age of 25 years old.