ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
Date: October 26, 2016
SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Board of Parole Hearings, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, denied the parole yesterday of a man with a history of violent crimes who brutally murdered his lifelong friend for money and threw him out of a plane after deliberately smashing the victim’s face so sharks would eat the body. Lawrence Rayborn Cowell, 68, is currently being held at California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo, California. Cowell was sentenced Jan. 26, 1990, to two concurrent terms of 25 years to life in state prison. Cowell will be eligible for his next parole hearing in 2019.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) opposed the parole and Senior Deputy District Attorneys Matt Murphy and Mike Murray appeared with Collene and Gary Campbell, parents of 27-year-old murder victim Scott Campbell, to defend public safety and advocate for justice. Continue reading