By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com
A Sacramento Superior Court jury today found Matthew David Riley guilty of first-degree murder in the Dec. 9, 2008, stabbing deaths of his parents in their Natomas area home.
Riley, 33, (pictured left) sat impassively as the verdicts were read. The multiple murders amounted to a special-circumstance finding by the jury that likely will result in a life-term prison sentence with no chance of parole. Judge Gary S. Mullen scheduled Riley's sentencing for Dec. 2.
Prosecutors said Riley was upset with his parents because of their reluctance to let him move in with them in their Paddle Wheel Court home amid his failing marriage. His parents, Steven Riley, 54 (pictured right), and LInda Riley, 53 (pictured center) each were stabbed 19 times. Riley claimed that somebody else did the killings that he reported to the police three years ago.
The jury began its deliberations on Tuesday. One member of the panel said it was the totality of the evidence that worked against Riley. The 37-year-old juror, who did not give his name, said the brutality of the killings was a key factor in the group's determination. He said it had to be somebody with a close emotional relationship with the couple to engage in that level of violence.
Steven Riley had worked as an IT expert for the California Public Employees' Retirement System. Linda Riley was a pension program manager for the California State Teachers' Retirement System.
Matthew Riley's defense attorney argued that while there was evidence that seemed to point to his client, the state didn't have the proof it needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
Riley called Sacramento police around 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 9, 2008, to report that he had gone to visit his parents at their Natomas area cul-de-sac and found their bodies inside their house.
KCRA: Verdict in for man accused of killing his parents - Oct. 26, 2011
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