A 69-year-old man was convicted of murder on Wednesday, Dec. 20, for using a butcher knife to stab his 70-year-old housemate to death in what he called an unprovoked “mercy killing” at the breakfast table of their Anaheim boarding home.
An Orange County Superior Court jury deliberated for several hours before finding Michael Hallgren, now 69, guilty of second-degree murder on Nov. 20, 2018 — killing Lucinda Palma in the 1200 block of North Siesta Street.
Hallgren acknowledged picking up a butcher knife and repeatedly stabbing Palma in her throat. Authorities estimated he stabbed her four to 12 times, with enough force to break off the knife’s handle.
He left the blade in Palma’s throat.
Two roommates tried to stop him. One recalled Hallgren telling him, “I’ve got to kill her, she must die.”
In an interview hours later with an Anaheim detective, Hallgren explained that he had wanted to put Palma “out of her misery.” He said “the devil” told him to “go for it,” but added that he made the final choice and was responsible.
“I killed the lady because she was in bad shape,” Hallgren said in a recorded interrogation shown during his trial.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Brian Orue told jurors during closing arguments in a Santa Ana courtroom that there was “no quarrel” and “no fight” between Hallgren and Palma, just the “completely unprovoked killing of a 70-year-old woman. …
“She was just sitting at the table minding her own business and that is when he decided to put her out of her misery,” Orue said. “There is no defense to that.”
The board-and-care facility was for older adults at risk of being homeless. It isn’t clear what ailments Palma suffered from, though according to testimony she at times required roommates’ help.
Hallgren’s attorney, David Hammond, acknowledged that his client was responsible for Palma’s death. But he argued it was manslaughter, not murder. Hammond said Hallgren acted rashly, without thought. And other roommates said there was no history of violence with Hallgren, the defense attorney added.
“Michael Hallgren is not a monster,” Hammond said. “This was so out of character for him. As tragic as this situation is, as tragic as it is to lose a loved one to homicide, this is not a murder.”
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Hallgren had been living with a sister who cared for him in a Santa Ana home. When that sister died, Hallgren tried to kill himself by setting that home on fire, but crawled to safety when the smoke and flames got to be too much for him. Unable to live on his own, Hallgren was placed in the board-and-care facility, his attorney said, where he once again tried to kill himself.
Mental-health experts who evaluated Hallgren prior to the killing determined that he suffered from depression and anxiety and felt like he was unable to cope with living in the Anaheim home. They were working on moving him to a place that could provide more support. He has since been diagnosed with dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
Hallgren was previously convicted of robbing a bank in Los Angeles County in 1999, and was sentenced to two years in federal prison.
Talking to the detective after the killing of Palma, Hallgren said “the devil” had also told him to carry out that heist.
Hallgren is scheduled to be sentencing on Feb. 9.
