Man found guilty of killing girlfriend and her mother in Redondo Beach

A jury on Thursday found a Redondo Beach man guilty of killing his girlfriend and her mother, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

After two hours of deliberation, Jonathan Scott Chacon, a 26-year-old Latino, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, with a knife allegation and a special circumstance of multiple murders.

On Feb. 28, 2012, authorities found Courtney Bergman, 19, and her mother, Vicki Bergman, 59, dead in their home about 10 a.m. Both women had multiple sharp force wounds to their bodies.

A co-worker of one of the women discovered the mother and daughter. Jonathan Scott Chacon was named as a person of interest in the case and police released his photo and a description of his vehicle.

According to the Daily Breeze, Chacon testified during the trial that he was in a trance when he slashed Courtney Bergman’s throat after she charged at him with a knife. He cut her mother’s throat because he thought she would hurt him. 

Chacon’s son was in the home at the time of the killings, prosecutors said. Chacon fled but he was arrested later that day at a hotel in Rosarito, Mexico.

Chacon could face a sentence of life in prison without parole. He is scheduled to be sentenced May 8.

-- Nicole Santa Cruz