Ernest Scherer III, Bay Area Gambler, Killed Parents to Get Inheritance, Jury Says

Ernest Scherer III

​A jury today found Ernest Scherer III guilty of killing his parents, saying he murdered them so he could access his inheritance early and pay down mounting poker debts.

In March 2008, Scherer was arrested on suspicion of murder after the bodies of Ernest Scherer Jr., 60, and Charlene Abendroth, 57, were found inside their Pleasanton home.

He now faces life in prison without parole after an Alameda County jury found him guilty on two counts of first-degree murder, according to media reports.

During the trial, Scherer told the jury that he was asleep in his Southern California home when his parents were beaten to death with a baseball bat. Their necks and wrists were also slashed inside their Castlewood Country Club home.

Although Alameda County investigators found no evidence to link Scherer to the murders, there were plenty of abnormal behaviors that proved the 32-year-old was guilty, Deputy District Attorney Michael Nieto told media outlets. 

Scherer had reportedly been upset with his parents because they weren't bailing him out financially. The younger Scherer stood to gain $1.5 million from his parents inheritance, according to media reports.

And, as we all know, money makes people do crazy things.

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