Caregiver Murder Case Goes to Jury

On Tuesday jurors began deliberating the fate of a caretaker accused of stealing more than $500,000 from an 88-year-old Rancho Bernardo man before killing him so that she could become independently wealthy. 

Denise Goodwin, 47, is charged with twelve counts, including murder, and also faces a special allegation for financial gain in the death of Gerald Rabourn.  In his closing argument, Deputy District Attorney Bill Mitchell told jurors that Goodwin was a “predator disguised as a caregiver who targeted elderly men with money and no family nearby.”  Mr. Rabourn trusted the defendant and allowed her access to his bank account after she convinced him that she could help him with his finances.  “Gerald Rabourn was sucked in and taken to the cleaners . . . [Goodwin] had found her golden goose.” 

When the defendant obtained the money she used it to buy property in Temecula, telling people she had gotten an inheritance from her father.  Yet, Goodwin got her name added to Mr. Rabourn’s account and changed the direct deposit so that she could gain access to his $3,000-a-month pension check.  Moreover, Goodwin signed a quit-claim deed on Rabourn’s home and listed it for $381,000 and later took in the profits from the sale.

See Kelly Wheeler, Jury Deliberations Begin in Caregiver Murder Case, ABC 10 News, Sept. 30, 2014.