An Ojai man has been sentenced to 18 years behind bars for the brutal killing of his friend with a sledgehammer, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko confirmed on Thursday. Cameron Scott Lykins, 28, had pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the 2019 death of Houston Auer in an incident that sent shock waves throughout the small community of Ojai.
On that fateful day, Lykins carried out the gruesome attack in his friend's bedroom at his grandmother's place, and after committing the heinous act, he fled the scene with the body, dumping it in the Angeles National Forest. Lykins then made his way to his mother's house in Lone Pine, where law enforcement later arrested him, as reported by the district attorney's office. The findings by the Department of Fish and Wildlife warden, who stumbled upon Auer's remains a month later, only confirmed the grim outcome of this tragic event.
Serving as a stark reminder of the consequences of violent crime, Lykins's conviction by Senior Deputy District Attorney Christopher Harman and Deputy District Attorney Hayley Moyer ensures he will face considerable time away from society. "The true tragedy of this case is that Houston Auer is gone, and nothing can bring him back," stated Harman, according to the official press release. "Today's sentencing holds the defendant accountable for what the people could prove and will keep him off the street for a significant amount of time."
Along with the manslaughter charge, Lykins faced multiple special allegations, which notably included the use of a deadly weapon and prior felonies, which only added to his already heavy sentence and emphasized the gravity of his actions in the eyes of the criminal justice system. The press release had more details on these allegations that paint a picture of a man far gone down a path of crime and outside the bounds of the law.
Comments from the district attorney's office highlight the solemn duty of the law to enact justice and the sobering reality that while the legal system can penalize such acts, it cannot undo the permanent loss inflicted upon the victims and their families by such senseless violence. As the community of Ojai now looks to heal, the hope remains that such a sentence may serve to deter similar tragedies in the future.
