The three men accused of killing a 68-year-old New Zealand woman at Fashion Island in Newport Beach on Tuesday could face the death penalty, including one alleged perpetrator already convicted of multiple felonies.
Leroy Ernest Joseph McCrary, 26, of Los Angeles; Malachi Eddward Darnell, 18, of Los Angeles; and Jaden Cunningham, 18, of Lancaster, are accused of throwing Patricia McKay into the street, then running over her with a vehicle as they fled, according to a release from the office of Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.
McCrary, Darnell and Cunningham allegedly held up McKay and her husband, 69, at gunpoint as the visitors from New Zealand waited for a ride after a day of shopping, prompting a struggle.
During the fracas, Cunningham tried to grab McKay’s bags, dragging her into the street, prosecutors said.
Despite the efforts of McKay’s husband to save his wife, the driver McCrary accelerated, knocking the husband out of the way and fatally injuring McKay by dragging her 65 feet.
