Killing Winchester Senior
MURRIETA (CNS) – Jury deliberations were underway Thursday in the trial of one of the conspirators accused in the slaying of a 78-year-old Winchester man during a home invasion robbery.
Matthew Patrick Fromer, 52, of Menifee is charged with first-degree murder, robbery, burglary and special circumstance allegations of killing in the course of a robbery and during the commission of a burglary for the 2023 death of Robert Bettencourt.
The defense and prosecution closed their cases Tuesday, and Fromer’s jury went behind closed doors to deliberate in the monthlong trial Wednesday. They returned Thursday to continue deliberations at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
Fromer, who is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center, and his co-defendants have all been tried separately.
Earlier this week, Clifford John Franken, 54, of Hemet was convicted of murder, robbery, burglary and the two special-circumstance allegations.
He’s slated for sentencing on May 30 and is also being held without bail at the Murrieta jail.
During proceedings last month for 47-year-old Kevin Richard Hirsch of Menifee, he reached a plea deal with the District Attorney’s Office, admitting murder, the special circumstance-allegation for burglary, and the burglary and robbery counts.
He’s being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail and is slated for sentencing on May 23.
Joseph Michael Salvati, 34, of Hemet, who is representing himself, is set to go on trial next month. He is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility.
According to a trial brief filed by the prosecution, Hirsch and Fromer were initially the only two alleged conspirators, discussing plans on how to commit a break-in at Bettencourt’s residence in the 28100 block of Whitaker Street after learning from someone who had worked around the double-wide trailer that the victim kept a large stash of rare coins and firearms.
Hirsch recorded the 40-minute conversation between he and Fromer on his Apple iPhone, then shared it in text form with Franken and Salvati, prosecutors alleged.
“During that recorded conversation, (they) discuss a plan to burglarize and murder the `old man,”‘ the brief stated. “Hirsch agrees to `pop the old man.”‘
The men gathered in the predawn hours of March 3, 2023, going to Bettencourt’s remote property in separate vehicles. They arrived shortly after 3 a.m., forcing their way into the residence and confronting the victim as he slept, court papers stated.
After subduing Bettencourt, Hirsch fatally shot the senior, prosecutors said.
The brief said the foursome spent almost two hours ransacking the residence, stealing the victim’s collection of rare coins, along with tools, guns and anything else they could load into the bed of a pickup. They separated afterward.
One of the victim’s friends went to the property three days later to check on him. Finding the trailer in complete disarray, he called for deputies, who discovered the victim’s remains “underneath several items of junk,” the brief stated.
Central Homicide Unit detectives were able to obtain security surveillance video from a nearby property, which captured all of the vehicles coming and going from the victim’s home. The investigators were then able to match the vehicles to other images recorded via license plate recognition cameras strategically placed at various locations in the Hemet Valley, according to court papers.
Sufficient evidence was amassed to obtain a search warrant for Hirsch’s room at a Hemet motel, where detectives seized “multiple cell phones” and a Smith & Wesson revolver, later determined to be the one used in the killing.
After connecting all of the alleged conspirators, additional warrants were served, culminating in further seizures of rare coins and tools identified as belonging to the victim, according to the brief. Hirsch’s phone and the case- breaking conversation that he’d recorded was also seized.
After Hirsch was booked into custody, undercover deputies posing as inmates were placed in the same cell with him, leading to a conversation in which the defendant placed himself at the crime, along with his co-defendants, the brief said.
“He described the crime as a `huge payday’ and the equivalent of a `retirement bust,”‘ according to the narrative. “Hirsch described the payout in the form of `guns, coins and money,’ all of which are different items found during the search of each defendant … When asked if he `popped the old dude,’ Hirsch admitted he shot the victim.”
Fromer has a prior conviction for driving under the influence of drugs, while Franken has a prior conviction for vehicle theft, and Hirsch has two priors in another jurisdiction that weren’t listed in court documents.
Salvati has priors for carjacking and felony evading.
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