An 81-year-old woman who killed the father of her great-grandson because she believed he molested the boy was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Jeane Ellen Allen entered a guilty plea and was sentenced Thursday, appearing in Superior Court handcuffed to a wheelchair.
She may be the oldest person in Orange County history to plead guilty to first-degree murder, authorities said.
Allen pleaded guilty against her lawyer’s advice and “only because she could not see the end of the tunnel,” Assistant Public Defender Sheryl Beasley said. “It breaks my heart.”
But the mother of her victim called her selfish and evil. “I hope that forever how many days of your life you have left you will suffer knowing that you took the life of an innocent man,” Irene Reyes said in a court statement.
Allen was arrested at her home in Lake Forest on Jan. 28 for killing Alex Reyes. The 26-year-old Brea man was shot in the head when he arrived for a court-authorized visit with his 18-month-old son. Reyes had been involved in a custody battle with Allen’s granddaughter, Leslie Jane Bieg, who claimed he molested the boy. Reyes denied it and prosecutor Steve McGreevy said the allegation was false.
Witnesses told authorities that Reyes appeared to be having a casual conversation with Allen and her granddaughter when Allen pulled out a gun and fired.
Allen said she used a revolver once owned by an uncle who was a member of the Chicago police force.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 14, 2006. Read the original PDF.