Los Angeles Murder Defense Lawyer: What to Do When Someone You Love Is Charged
When someone you love is arrested for murder in Los Angeles, the first reaction is panic. The second is confusion. Most families have no idea what to do, who to call, or what is actually happening inside the criminal justice system.
They sit and wait, hoping things will somehow work themselves out.
They will not. A murder charge under California Penal Code 187 PC is the most serious accusation in the California criminal code. From the moment an arrest is made, the District Attorney's office is moving — assigning a senior homicide prosecutor, building the case, locking in witnesses.
Every hour that passes without a defense attorney in the picture is an hour the prosecution gets stronger.
This page is written for the person making that call — the spouse, parent, sibling, or close friend who is trying to figure out what to do right now. Here is what you need to know.
The Hedding Law Firm can help you. Schedule your consultation by calling (833) 594-2133 or using the contact form.
Your First Call Should Be to a Defense Attorney — Not to the Police
The most important thing you can do in the first hours of a murder case is get a criminal defense attorney involved. Not tomorrow. Not after the arraignment. Now.
The person who has been arrested should not speak to law enforcement under any circumstances until an attorney is present. This applies even if they are innocent — especially if they are innocent.
Detectives assigned to murder cases in Los Angeles are trained interrogators. They already have evidence when they make contact. They know what they are looking for, and they are skilled at getting people to fill in gaps, contradict themselves, or say something that sounds innocent but becomes damaging in court.
The message to pass on to your loved one is simple: say nothing. Invoke the right to remain silent. Ask for an attorney. Do not explain, do not justify, do not try to help — just stop talking until a lawyer is present.
What Happens at the First Meeting With a Defense Attorney
When a family member contacts our office about a murder charge, the first step is an in-person meeting — private, confidential, and protected by the attorney-client privilege.
Most of the time, it is not the person charged who calls. It is their family. The person who was arrested is in custody and cannot make that call themselves.
In that first meeting, we cover everything: what happened leading up to the arrest, what the family knows, whether any statements have already been made to the police, who the detectives on the case are, and where the case currently stands.
We look at the booking system to identify exactly what charges have been filed and which courthouse the case is headed to. We find out whether a District Attorney has already been assigned.
From there, the attorney goes to work. That means visiting the person in custody directly — so they know what attorney is on the case, so a strategy can begin to take shape, and so they understand what not to say to anyone else in that facility. It means identifying and preserving evidence before it disappears.
It means locating witnesses and making contact before their accounts shift. And it means taking control of the case to prevent further mistakes.
Is Your Loved One Under Investigation But Not Yet Arrested?
Sometimes the call comes before an arrest. The police are asking questions. Detectives have come to the house.
Someone in the family has been approached. If there is any reason to believe that a person is being looked at in connection with a murder — even informally — an attorney needs to be involved immediately.
This is called pre-filing intervention, and it is one of the most powerful tools available in a murder defense. When an attorney gets involved before charges are filed, several things become possible that are not possible afterward.
The attorney can notify law enforcement that the client is represented and will not be making statements.
The attorney can make contact with the prosecutors at the DA's office, understand what evidence they believe they have, and present the client's version of events in a controlled, strategic way — rather than letting police take an unguided statement that gets twisted.
In some cases, pre-filing intervention influences whether charges are filed at all or what charges are filed. That window closes the moment an arrest is made and the case is formally in the system. Do not wait for that to happen.
Where Will the Case Be Prosecuted in Los Angeles County?
One of the first practical questions is where the case will be filed. In Los Angeles County, most crimes are prosecuted in the courthouse closest to where the offense occurred.
A murder in the San Fernando Valley is typically filed in Van Nuys Court or, if it occurred in the northern part of the Valley, in San Fernando Court. Cases from the Westside generally go through the LAX courthouse. Antelope Valley cases land in Lancaster.
But murder is different from other charges. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's hub is at 210 West Temple Street in downtown Los Angeles — and that office has the authority to take any murder case from anywhere in the county and prosecute it downtown.
This happens regularly with high-profile cases, cases involving sophisticated criminal activity, cases with significant gang allegations, or any case where the DA's office wants its most experienced homicide prosecutors to handle it.
The attorney handling your case needs to have real experience in that building — not just familiarity with it, but a track record of handling serious cases there. The prosecutors downtown are senior.
The judges are experienced. This is not the place to bring in an attorney who primarily handles misdemeanors or lower-level felonies.
Understanding the Charges: What PC 187 Actually Means
California Penal Code 187 defines murder as the unlawful killing of a human being or fetus with malice aforethought. What that means in practice depends on the specific charge:
- First-degree murder covers all premeditated killings and felony murder (a death that occurs during a robbery, carjacking, burglary, arson, or similar serious crime). Sentence: 25 years to life.
- Second-degree murder is an intentional killing without premeditation — or a killing done with implied malice, meaning conscious disregard for human life. Sentence: 15 years to life.
- Special circumstances murder involves aggravating factors under PC 190.2 — multiple victims, murder of a police officer, murder for financial gain, torture, or lying in wait. Sentence: life without parole, or in rare cases, the death penalty.
- Voluntary manslaughter (PC 192a) is a lesser charge — a killing in the heat of passion following adequate provocation, without the premeditation required for murder. In the right case, fighting to reduce a murder charge to manslaughter is one of the most important victories a defense attorney can achieve.
The Mistakes That Hurt People the Most in Murder Cases
After more than 30 years of defending murder cases across Los Angeles County, the patterns are clear. These are the mistakes that consistently make an already serious situation worse:
Waiting and doing nothing
The most costly mistake is inaction — assuming things will sort themselves out, hoping the situation fades, or deciding to wait until after the arraignment to get serious. While the family waits, the prosecution does not. Every day without a defense attorney is a day the other side uses to build a stronger case.
Talking to police without an attorney
It feels natural to want to explain. People think that if they just tell their side of the story, the police will understand and the situation will be resolved. This is not how a murder investigation works.
By the time detectives approach someone in connection with a murder, they already have evidence. They are not looking for the truth — they are looking for confirmation of what they already believe.
Talking to them without an attorney, no matter how innocent a person is, almost always makes the case harder to defend.
Hiring an attorney who does not actually try murder cases
Not every criminal defense attorney is equipped to handle a murder case from start to finish. Some attorneys will take a murder case through the preliminary hearing and then try to negotiate their way out — or quietly encourage the client to take a deal rather than go to trial.
A preliminary hearing is not just a procedural step — it is a critical strategic opportunity to lock in witnesses' testimony under oath, challenge the prosecution's evidence, and lay the foundation for a trial defense. An attorney who will not or cannot take a case to trial on a murder charge should not be taking that case at all.
What Makes a Murder Defense Attorney Effective in Los Angeles?
Los Angeles County is one of the largest and most complex criminal court systems in the United States. The DA's office is staffed with experienced homicide prosecutors who do nothing but handle murder cases.
The detectives assigned to homicide investigations are the most experienced officers in their departments. Going up against this system requires an attorney who has done it before — many times, across many courthouses.
Ronald Hedding has been defending serious criminal cases in Los Angeles since 1994. He began his legal career inside the system — as a law clerk with the LA County District Attorney's Office, then as a judicial research attorney for a Superior Court judge.
He has handled murder and homicide cases in virtually every courthouse in the county: downtown Los Angeles, Van Nuys, San Fernando, Pasadena, Burbank, Glendale, Compton, Long Beach, and Antelope Valley. He has tried more murder cases to verdict than most criminal defense attorneys in the region.
He also handles murder cases in federal court and in counties surrounding Los Angeles, including Orange, Ventura, and San Bernardino Counties.
If you are looking for an attorney with the range, the experience, and the trial record to take on a murder case anywhere in Southern California, contact our office.
Questions Families Ask Most When a Loved One Is Charged With Murder (FAQs)
Can my loved one get bail on a murder charge in California?
In most murder cases in California, bail is either denied or set at an extremely high amount. Under the California Constitution, bail can be denied entirely when the charge is murder, and the prosecution presents strong evidence of guilt.
This means that in many PC 187 cases, the person charged will remain in custody throughout the proceedings. A defense attorney can request a bail hearing and argue for release, but these are difficult to win on a first-degree murder charge.
How long will this case take?
Murder cases in Los Angeles are among the longest-running cases in the criminal court system. From arrest to resolution — whether by trial or negotiated plea — a case can take anywhere from one to several years.
The complexity of the facts, the volume of evidence, the number of witnesses, and the court's calendar all affect the timeline. Families should prepare for a process that takes time to do right.
What if my loved one says they didn't do it?
Innocence is a defense — but innocence alone does not win cases. The criminal justice system requires the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but it does not automatically protect the innocent from wrongful conviction.
An experienced defense attorney investigates independently, challenges the prosecution's evidence, and makes sure the jury sees the full picture.
Do not assume that being innocent means no defense is needed. It means the opposite — it means the defense has to be built carefully and fought for aggressively.
What is the difference between murder and manslaughter?
Murder requires malice aforethought — either an intent to kill or a conscious disregard for human life.
Manslaughter is an unlawful killing without malice, typically a killing that occurred in the heat of passion following genuine provocation. The sentencing disparity between these charges is enormous.
Voluntary manslaughter carries a maximum of 11 years in California state prison.
First-degree murder carries 25 years to life. Fighting to have a murder charge reduced to manslaughter — when the facts support it — is one of the most important things a defense attorney can do.
My loved one was present during the crime but didn't pull the trigger. Are they still charged?
Possibly. California's felony murder rule, as updated by Senate Bill 1437 in 2019, significantly narrowed the circumstances under which a person can be charged with murder for a death they did not directly cause.
Under the current law, the prosecution must show that the person was the actual killer, aided and abetted with the specific intent to kill, or was a major participant in the underlying crime who acted with reckless indifference to human life.
If your loved one was present but did not meet these criteria, that is a central defense argument. It requires careful legal analysis of the specific facts.
Contact Our Office Today — Do Not Wait
If someone you love has been arrested for murder in Los Angeles, or you believe they are under investigation, contact our office immediately. The earlier a defense attorney gets involved in a murder case, the more options exist to protect your loved one's rights, freedom, and future.
Call or contact us through this site for a confidential consultation. We are available to meet with families at our office to discuss the case in private.
We handle murder and homicide cases throughout Los Angeles County and surrounding counties, including Orange County, Ventura County, and San Bernardino County.
