A Moorpark man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison for the murder of his brother-in-law in a tragic family dispute that dates back to 2019. Elsworth Dennis Cadle, 71, admitted to the shooting of Mark Milton, a man who had become entangled in Cadle's familial difficulties, as part of a plea agreement reached last month, as reported by the Ventura County DA's office. The Ventura County District Attorney's Office revealed the sentencing details, marking the end of a case that has weighed on the community.
According to the Ventura County DA's office, the events leading to Milton's murder began to unfold when Cadle's estranged wife and daughter, seeking refuge from a fractured marriage, found solace at the home of Cadle's sister and her husband, Milton. This temporary arrangement eventually led to the wife and daughter moving into their own space, necessitating a transfer of their belongings from Cadle's residence and a storage unit in Moorpark.
"This was a heartbreaking incident for the family," Supervising Senior Deputy District Attorney Melissa Suttner remarked, as per KTLA’s report. Suttner went on to express her hopes that "today's significant sentence will provide a path for the family to begin healing." The Ventura County Sheriff's Office received praise for their investigative work, which led to Cadle's arrest mere hours after the fatal shooting and the subsequent recovery of the gun from his rental car.
Upon his plea of guilty to second-degree murder with the special allegation of intentional and personal discharge of a firearm resulting in death, the court rendered its decision on Cadle's fate.
