LOS ANGELES — A driver who barreled down the tourist-crowded Venice Beach boardwalk on a summer afternoon, killing an Italian honeymooner and injuring 17 other people, was convicted Friday of second-degree murder and other charges.
Nathan Campbell, a transient from Colorado, was seeking revenge after being ripped off in a $35 drug deal on Aug. 3, 2013, and deliberately aimed his Dodge Avenger at vendors and tourists on the popular walkway, Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila told jurors.
Campbell, 39, faces up to life in prison when sentenced Aug. 5 for the murder of Alice Gruppioni, prosecutors said. He was also convicted on 17 counts of assault with a deadly weapon and 10 counts of leaving an accident scene.
Campbell had said he was trying to reverse when the car slipped into drive, prosecutors said. A lawyer who initially represented Campbell blamed a faulty shift.
At trial, defense lawyer James Cooper III acknowledged Campbell killed Gruppioni and caused the carnage but said he had tried to avoid hitting them and wasn’t guilty of murder.
Witnesses said Campbell was grinning as his car jumped a curb and snaked through the crowd, hitting Gruppioni and carrying her 300 feet on the hood before she fell to her death.
Gruppioni, 32, was honeymooning with her husband from Bologna, Italy.
Her widower, Christian Casadei, fought back tears during the trial as he described trying to pull her into a doorway as the car bore down on them. Casadei said she died as he held her hand.
A lawyer for Casadei and Gruppioni’s family said they were grateful Campbell was held “criminally responsible for causing this tragedy.”
“We deeply miss Alice, and our hearts will always be with our beautiful wife and daughter,” said a statement from attorney Gregory Bentley.
At trial, prosecutors showed video of panicked pedestrians trying to dodge the car as it hit speeds of 35 mph.
Campbell surrendered in neighboring Santa Monica two hours later.
