Teens stomp man to death as he sleeps outside church, California officials say
Two teenage boys accused of stomping a 66-year-old man to death as he slept outside a church have been charged, California officials say.
The Oxnard teenagers, ages 14 and 15, each face a murder charge in the death of Davy Glen Pichel, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said in a June 10 news release.
A church volunteer found Pichel partially clothed on the side of the Catholic church in Oxnard with serious injuries to his head and face on June 5, prosecutors said.
After paramedics arrived at the church, Pichel was pronounced dead on scene at about 6:40 a.m., prompting an investigation by the Oxnard Police Department, prosecutors said.
Video surveillance from the church showed the teens approach Pichel as he sat “near the church side door next to his wheelchair” the evening of June 4, prosecutors said.
The teens are accused of beating and stomping on Pichel, then briefly walking away, prosecutors said.
However, they returned and took “turns to stomp him again,” according to prosecutors.
They walked away again “but returned to repeatedly stomp” Pichel, prosecutors said.
The teens took some of Pichel’s clothing and fled, prosecutors said.
Oxnard police said they identified the two boys as suspects, and they were arrested June 5, according to a news release.
The boys appeared in court for arraignment June 10, but, per the request of their attorneys, “their arraignments were continued to June 24,” prosecutors said.
Both are being held at a juvenile correctional facility, prosecutors said.
Oxnard is about a 60-mile drive northwest from Los Angeles.
This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 9:42 AM with the headline "Teens stomp man to death as he sleeps outside church, California officials say."
