A Redding man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 15 years to life and an additional five years, for murdering his step-grandparents inside their Oasis Road home nearly five years ago. Colton Wayne Rhone was convicted of killing 76-year-old Julian Uranga and 73-year-old Karen Uranga, whose bodies were discovered by family members returning from out of state on December 31, 2021.
According to Action News Now, victims' family members shared impact statements with the court at sentencing, describing the devastating toll the murders have taken on them. Shasta County Sheriff's deputies responded to the home at 18395 Oasis Road at around 5 a.m. that morning, according to KRCR7, and found Rhone inside a travel trailer on the property shortly after arriving. Rhone was initially non-compliant with responding deputies before being taken into custody, per the same report.
Confession Led to Arrest, Four-Year Wait for Trial
Rhone was interviewed by Shasta County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit detectives following his discovery at the scene and made admissions to the killings before being booked into the Shasta County Jail on $2 million bail, the station reported. Jeremy Ashbee served as the lead detective in the investigation, per Action News Now. The unit that cracked the case consists of eight investigative positions and one sergeant, handling serious felony investigations across a county spanning more than 3,700 square miles, according to Hoodline's prior reporting on the unit's structure.
Rhone remained in custody for more than four years awaiting trial. A 2024–2025 Shasta County Grand Jury report published in May 2025 flagged high average in-custody death rates and identified ongoing special housing needs for mentally ill inmates at the jail where he was held, a detail that adds institutional context to his lengthy stay behind bars.
Jury Found Him Guilty, Then Sane
A Shasta County jury convicted Rhone of second-degree murder, first-degree murder and first-degree residential burglary in July, Action News Now reported. Per Crime Voice, the jury reached those guilty verdicts on July 21, 2026, in Department 23 of Shasta County Superior Court before returning the next morning for the sanity phase of the trial. The jury ultimately determined Rhone was sane at the time he committed the crimes.
That two-step process follows California Penal Code Section 1026, which requires criminal proceedings involving a not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity plea to be bifurcated — a jury must first determine guilt, then conduct a separate phase to evaluate the defendant's sanity, according to the Shouse Law Group. California law requires the defense to prove insanity by a preponderance of the evidence, per the same source. Under Penal Code Section 190.2, first-degree murder convictions involving special circumstances — including multiple murders or a murder committed during a residential burglary — carry a mandatory sentence of life without parole or death, though California has maintained an executive moratorium on capital punishment since 2019.
Prosecutors, Family Reflect on Yearslong Case
Senior Deputy District Attorney Anthony Miller prosecuted the case, with Co-Chief Deputy District Attorney Sarah Murphy assisting, Action News Now reported. The Shasta County District Attorney's Office said it was grateful to jurors for their careful consideration, diligence and steadfast commitment to upholding justice throughout the case.
The killings of Julian and Karen Uranga carry added weight in a county where seniors make up a larger share of the population than the state average. About 22.2% of Shasta County's roughly 182,000 residents — some 40,100 people — are 65 or older, according to USAFacts, with the county's median age of 41.7 years running well above California's statewide median of 38.4. The case closes out nearly five years after the discovery on Oasis Road, with Rhone now facing life in prison for the deaths of the couple whose property he once called home.
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