Widow of man killed in Malibu Creek State Park campground files $90 million legal claim

Ventura

The widow of a man shot and killed while camping with his daughters last summer at Malibu Creek State Park has filed a legal claim seeking $90 million in damages from Los Angeles County and the state of California.

Erica Wu filed the claim on Dec. 21 alleging that several state agencies failed to publicize the existence of multiple unsolved shootings in the park near Calabasas where her husband and daughters were camping.

The claim was filed against the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the California State Park Police, the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the California State Parks and Recreation Commission. It alleges the agencies were aware of at least seven unresolved shootings that took place at the park between November of 2016 and the death of Wu's husband.

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"However, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, California State Park Police, Department of Parks and Recreation and California State Parks and Recreation Commission intentionally withheld any information of these previous seven shootings from the public," the claim states.

Tristan Beaudette, 35, was killed on June 22, 2018, while he was camping at the state park with his two daughters, ages 2 and 4. He had been sleeping in a tent between his daughters when he was hit by a single gunshot wound to the head around 4:40 a.m.

Tristan Beaudette, of Irvine, was fatally shot in front of his two daughters while camping in Malibu Creek State Park.

Both the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department declined to comment on the claim.

"We reserve comment on pending litigation," said Nicole Nishida, a spokesperson for the sheriff's department.

Earlier this month, 42-year-old Anthony Rauda was charged with the murder of Beaudette along with 10 counts of attempted murder and one count of attempted burglary.

Rauda was already in custody from a burglary arrest in October when the charges were filed. He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of all charges, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.