OXNARD, CA — A 16-year-old boy was found guilty of willful, deliberate, and premeditated first-degree murder Thursday in the beating death of Davy Glen Pichel, who was killed outside St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Oxnard in June 2025, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office announced.
The verdict closes the guilt phase of a juvenile case that began when the teen and an accomplice — both 14 years old at the time — attacked Pichel as he sat in his wheelchair near the church. The case drew attention because of the victim’s vulnerability, the setting outside a house of worship, and the young ages of the two suspects. A co-defendant already resolved his case earlier this year, leaving this teen as the final defendant to face a jury. The convicted teen now awaits sentencing at the Juvenile Justice Center in Oxnard, where he faces a maximum base term of seven years in a Secured Youth Treatment Facility under California state law.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, the killing occurred in June 2025 outside St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Oxnard, California. Church security cameras captured the critical moments of the attack. Surveillance footage showed the two teens approaching Pichel, who was seated in his wheelchair near the church building, before repeatedly beating and stomping him, prosecutors said. A church volunteer later discovered Pichel’s body outside the building. He had suffered severe injuries to his head and face. Pichel was also not fully dressed at the time he was found, according to the district attorney’s office. Paramedics responded to the scene and pronounced him dead. Investigators from the Oxnard Police Department took over the case and used the church’s security video as a central piece of evidence to identify the two teenage suspects.
Prosecutors argued the attack was willful, deliberate, and premeditated — the legal standard required for a first-degree murder conviction — and the jury agreed. The second teen involved in the killing had already pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in January, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. That co-defendant received the maximum base term allowed under California state law for juvenile offenders: seven years in a Secured Youth Treatment Facility. California law sets specific sentencing caps for minors adjudicated in juvenile court, meaning neither defendant could be sentenced as an adult or face the longer prison terms that adult convictions would carry. The nature of the Secured Youth Treatment Facility system means the convicted teen could be released before reaching his mid-twenties, depending on how the court and facility assess his progress. Details about what specific arguments the defense raised during the trial were not disclosed in the district attorney’s announcement.
The case unfolded in a community where the Catholic church serves as a central gathering point, and the discovery of a man’s body on its grounds shocked residents and parishioners. St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Oxnard sits in Ventura County, a coastal region north of Los Angeles. The fact that security cameras were installed at the church proved decisive in building the prosecution’s case — without the footage, identifying the perpetrators may have taken significantly longer, according to the investigation’s general timeline. The victim, Davy Glen Pichel, was using a wheelchair at the time of the attack, a detail that prosecutors highlighted to establish that he was not in a position to defend himself or flee. The Oxnard Police Department led the investigation and worked with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office to bring charges against both teens.
The convicted teen is scheduled to appear at the Juvenile Justice Center in Oxnard for sentencing, the district attorney’s office said. No specific sentencing date was announced in the initial verdict announcement. Under California’s juvenile justice framework, the court will weigh multiple factors before issuing a final sentence, though the maximum base term for this offense is capped at seven years in the Secured Youth Treatment Facility system. The co-defendant who pleaded guilty in January received that same seven-year maximum. California’s juvenile sentencing laws reflect the state legislature’s position that young offenders, even those convicted of serious crimes like first-degree murder, should be handled within a rehabilitative system rather than sentenced to adult prison terms. Whether the teen could face any enhancements beyond the base term was not specified in available court documents at the time of the verdict announcement.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office confirmed both convictions — the January guilty plea and Thursday’s jury verdict — in a public announcement following the trial’s conclusion. The office did not release extended remarks or quotes from the lead prosecutor in its initial statement. Church officials and Pichel’s family had not issued public statements available in the immediate aftermath of the verdict. The security video from St. Anthony’s Church, which captured the attack on Pichel, served as what prosecutors described as key evidence tying both teens to the scene and to the beating itself. Investigators said the footage was clear enough to show the sequence of events leading to Pichel’s death, undermining any claim that the encounter was accidental or brief.
The teen convicted Thursday now awaits a sentencing hearing at the Juvenile Justice Center in Oxnard. The co-defendant is already serving his seven-year maximum term in a Secured Youth Treatment Facility. Both defendants were 14 years old when the attack occurred in June 2025 and were processed through California’s juvenile court system throughout the legal proceedings. The next formal step is the sentencing hearing, at which a judge will determine the convicted teen’s final disposition within the bounds set by California juvenile law.
