CA - Malibu Creek State Park Shooting, Tristan Beaudette, 35, 22 June 2018 *Arrest* #2

[Harmony 2]

Unanswered questions about Malibu Creek shootings leave residents asking if they're safe

Suspect, Motive, Still Unknown in Mysterious Malibu Creek State Park Shooting Death

 

[roxybb99]

There will always be transients and rough campers in the park. I know from other parks that often, the 'regulars' are known to the rangers and/or they're aware of the signs of someone's living area or habits. Of course, from what little LE is willing to share with the public, we have no idea if they have any evidence that it was a squatter in the park.

Also, in the more remote areas of the park, small teams (two guys, usually) will slip in to harvest marijuana from illegal grow-ops and slip out again. This has been going on forever in Cali state parks. But someone like this would seem to have little motivation to go down to the campground and shoot at a tent.



The lights that would possibly interfere are well below marine layer level. There are streetlights on Las Virgenes Rd and IIRC, there's an exterior light on one of the Angeles District HQ buildings but no idea if it's on or off at night or on a motion sensor.

The street light which is probably closest to the campground - at Waycross and Las Virgenes - is set fairly low (you can see on Google Maps) and I'm not sure you could see it in the campground. I have some photos taken from the short deer trail that takes you from the road to the campsites and you can see the utility pole and wires but not the light itself. The straight line distance can't be more than 200 metres and you can walk it in a straight line.

I lived in a canyon in SoCal for many years, much closer to the city, and it was quite dark at night. I used to hike or ride my horse at night in the mountains and usually, we'd wait till the moon was high enough to give good light so we wouldn't need headlamps.

This campground is very, very easy to access from a major thoroughfare. There is plenty of cover from live oak and chaparral for someone to go unnoticed if they know their route.

I was in the park the day this happened. When we left around three the fog was already moving in. It was the reason we left. I know it’s not common, but the area by the road does get heavy fog once in a while as part of the marine layer. I’m not sure how thick it was overnight.. but it seemed to be moving in pretty heavy.

 

[Jim G]

Wondering if security has been stepped up at nearby state parks. Seems like the perp may avoid Malibu Creek and seek other less surveilled areas. I don't think this is anyone with a grudge against parks or campers. Ithink his aim is to terrorize. He chose this area because he is familiar with it, and he is choosing drivers and campers because they are super vulnerable. I was camping last week, and when I slept, I was dead to the world because of all the hiking I did during the day.

 

[RickshawFan]

Does no one take into consideration the multitude of transient/off the grid populace that live in the bushes there ...have lived there for some time?

I'm not certain, but I would guess there's no correlation between folks who have no other place to sleep and shootings. Generally, I'd think they'd want to not call attention to themselves.

 

[roxybb99]

I'm not certain, but I would guess there's no correlation between folks who have no other place to sleep and shootings. Generally, I'd think they'd want to not call attention to themselves.

Here in Cali we like to differentiate the homeless from transients. Transients are life long criminals living in our parks and our streets hiding amonst the homeless population. A transient living in this park was recently arrested for a different murder in an adjacent park. The transients in L.A. are not harmless...

 

[Jim G]

You should never discount any theory, but I don't think a transient is doing this. The shootings indicate a lot of planning and resources to pull it off, and besides, I'm not sure the transients want any undue attention...I suspect it is a local yokel, maybe a loner type, has a job like a convenience store clerk, shoots his guns on weekends, has a car, single, has a dead end life and is seeking a thrill

 

[passepartout]

You should never discount any theory, but I don't think a transient is doing this. The shootings indicate a lot of planning and resources to pull it off, and besides, I'm not sure the transients want any undue attention.

Well put.

(And if any of these shootings are connected, this person isn't much of a 'transient' at this point after two years of incidents.)

 

[Betty P]

Well put.

(And if any of these shootings are connected, this person isn't much of a 'transient' at this point after two years of incidents.)

Good points. That's been my impression. Its most likely the person is someone who lives in the area because the shootings have been going on for so long. They're familiar with the area, have spent a lot of time exploring all the trails and are probably young-ish and in good physical condition. Also a collector and aficionado of guns. They may be a loner, someone not living with a partner or roommate who would notice their habit of leaving home to wander around all night. Works night shift, or is a student, unemployed or of independent means - has money or parents who support him.

I meant to post this the other day, but its disappointing to hear that LE was focusing on the killings being gang related and that they wasted time and resources pursuing that flawed theory. Gangs are about business, about making money selling drugs, burglarizing, stealing cars, prostitution, etc. Seems highly unlikely they would put themselves at risk and waste time and effort to roam around in the bush, in an area outside their turf, taking random shots at campers and cars. There's no money to be made doing that. The same thing would apply to a grow op out there. Anyone working at a grow op isn't going to do something that would bring LE out to their area, risking discovery.

 

[windrower]

I feel like it was random.

figmutant, I appreciate your presence and participation here at WS. I am so very sorry for the loss of your cousin.

This is moo, me pondering a few things.

I'm on the fence between random and targeted.

Random because of the other instances of shootings and murders in the area.

Targeted, because how lucky was this that the random shooter did not hit either of the daughters? If random, it almost seems the girls had God's protection, because several shots reported, and no injury to them. The shots other than the one(s) that hit Tristan could have been decoy shots to confuse the situation, and add to the sense of "randomness."

Was it Tristan's idea to camp at this location, or was he "led" by someone to choose this campground in order to put him in the area of the other shootings? A random shooting would be a great way to explain his death.

And while I understand figmutant wanting to believe this is random, family members, many times, are the last to recognize the evil in their midst, in their circle of friends or acquaintances. We don't want to believe that Mr. Nice Guy or Ms. Pretty Lady could have done such a thing. And yet as we know from many threads here at WS, it happens. And it happens a lot.

I would suggest that Tristan's family question everything they think they know about this, start over, using the "what ifs" Tristan's dad mentioned, and give a bit of side-eye to anyone connected to Tristan personally and professionally. Listen to your intuition and gut-level response, and proceed accordingly. Better to step on some toes than never know who killed Tristan.

Again, my opinion only.

 

[passepartout]

A short history of murders in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Murder in the Mountains

And a piece from the same local (actually Topanga) media outlet:

Inter-agency task force on the case in Malibu shootings

There's more quotes from LE there, mostly in the vein of 'if you see something, say something' and 'trust your gut'. Which is standard LE advice but in this case, people have been reporting gunshots only to be told it's nothing to worry about or it's plinkers or a car backfiring or 'these things don't happen here.'

It doesn't help to say something if LE's first reaction is to shut it down.

 

[Vedder]

I have a hard time believing the locals told you trasients don’t exist in the park. They do.. there are hundreds if not thousands of transients living in the park.

Also.. for people trying to figure out how a person could have walked in and walked out, Malibu has a marine layer that moves in over night many nights. It’s a thick fog... and there was a marine layer the morning this happened.

Sometimes people have a naive view of their neighborhood/area. Especially if they grew up there.

 

[noodler2]

Targeted.

 

[Jim G]

Random act of violence. Thrill killer.

 

[Jim G]

That task force meeting would have twerked me had I been there. No mention of progress. Bunch of politicos slapping each other on the back. Self-licking ice cream cone.

 

[passepartout]

If your theory is 'targeted', can you clarify what you think is the target - TB specifically or the park/campground?

Scenario A: The shooter walked in to murder TB to the exclusion of all other campers.

Scenario B: The shooter was taking action against the park and/or campground. TB was one possible target among many and it didn't matter who specifically got shot.

Where this gets interesting is with respect to the other shootings.

In Scenario A, the shooter would be a one-time shooter who came to the campground solely for the purpose of killing TB. Thus, the shooter would not be responsible for any of the other shooting incidents in the park or in the area. This would be a stand-alone shooting in the park, not related to the other incidents.

Evidence for this? Witnesses reported 4-6 shots, saying it sounded like a handgun or small caliber weapon (Roadtripper on here and others). This would not be a shotgun which was the weapon used in the MT and JR shootings.

However, if you like this scenario, you also have to be okay with the coincidence that a gun homicide happened at a park/campground with a history of recent unrelated shooting incidents.

In Scenario B, the shooter is someone who has a grievance of some sort with the park, the campground or both. The park/campground is 'targeted', although it's place-specific not person-specific.

Evidence for? A series of shootings in the park area, including attacks on campers (one in the campground and one rough camper). A shotgun was used in both the JR and MT attacks, although LE has never said whether it was the same weapon.

In this case, the shooter shot into a tent without knowing the outcome or who was in the tent, although when one fires multiple rounds into a tent with people sleeping in it, murder must be considered as a possible outcome.

Scenario B would tend to link the incidents as perpetrated by a shooter who became increasingly bold and aggressive in taking action against the park/campground. The murder of TB was the latest progression.

 

[Jim G]

I'm inclined to believe only 2 shots. The rest were canyon reverberations or wakey-wakey fog of memory. Each additional shot would multiply the perp's chances of getting caught. And the killer knows this.

 

[noodler2]

If your theory is 'targeted', can you clarify what you think is the target - TB specifically or the park/campground?

Scenario A: The shooter walked in to murder TB to the exclusion of all other campers.

Scenario B: The shooter was taking action against the park and/or campground. TB was one possible target among many and it didn't matter who specifically got shot.

Where this gets interesting is with respect to the other shootings.

In Scenario A, the shooter would be a one-time shooter who came to the campground solely for the purpose of killing TB. Thus, the shooter would not be responsible for any of the other shooting incidents in the park or in the area. This would be a stand-alone shooting in the park, not related to the other incidents.

Evidence for this? Witnesses reported 4-6 shots, saying it sounded like a handgun or small caliber weapon (Roadtripper on here and others). This would not be a shotgun which was the weapon used in the MT and JR shootings.

However, if you like this scenario, you also have to be okay with the coincidence that a gun homicide happened at a park/campground with a history of recent unrelated shooting incidents.

In Scenario B, the shooter is someone who has a grievance of some sort with the park, the campground or both. The park/campground is 'targeted', although it's place-specific not person-specific.

Evidence for? A series of shootings in the park area, including attacks on campers (one in the campground and one rough camper). A shotgun was used in both the JR and MT attacks, although LE has never said whether it was the same weapon.

In this case, the shooter shot into a tent without knowing the outcome or who was in the tent, although when one fires multiple rounds into a tent with people sleeping in it, murder must be considered as a possible outcome.

Scenario B would tend to link the incidents as perpetrated by a shooter who became increasingly bold and aggressive in taking action against the park/campground. The murder of TB was the latest progression.

I assume TB targeted for one of the classic murder motives - revenge?

 

[trunkizback]

I cant decide. Random or intentional. OK, we know he was shot in the head. From outside the tent? Was he in a sitting position? A bullet in the head if he was lying down would be quite a shot, if outside the tent. Was it a handgun or a rifle? If shot from outside the tent , I;d lean towards random. If the killer came in the tent and it was a headshot? Murder. Making sure he got the right guy and done. Another posted that the whole family-work relations need scrutinized. I agree

 

[Jim G]

If it as targeted,I, would think the campground would have been re-opened by now...

 

[SuziQ]

Was it Tristan's idea to camp at this location, or was he "led" by someone to choose this campground in order to put him in the area of the other shootings? A random shooting would be a great way to explain his death
.

Figmutant previously shared that the campsite earlier in the day was occupied by a father and his son. They suddenly up and left. The father claims his son was ill. Then Tristen moved into his spot. It's on my mind that this could have been a case of a targeted shooting and mistaken identity.