Lancaster Man Sentenced For Murdering Mother, Attempting To Place Her In The Oven

LANCASTER (CBSLA.com)  —  A Lancaster man who strangled his 73-year-old mother and then attempted to cremate her in the oven because he believed she was a witch was sentenced Thursday to 15 years to life in state prison.

On June 17, Shelton Eugene Bradley, 49, pleaded no contest to one count of second-degree murder and agreed to waive any credit for time in jail since his arrest Dec. 20, 2013.

Bradley was arrested one day after his brother called police to report that he found their mother, Rosie Manuel, unresponsive at her Lancaster home.

Manuel was found dead with her upper torso on an open oven door, with the oven tipped slightly over on top of her, Deputy DA Theodore Swanson said.

According to court testimony, the defendant told detectives that God had told him that his mother was a witch and commanded him to kill and burn witches. Bradley then strangled the victim and attempted to place her inside the kitchen oven, the prosecutor added.