An Oceano murder suspect has changed his plea.
David Krause pleaded no contest Monday to murdering Lawrence Albert Bross in Oceano more than three years ago, according to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office. He also pleaded no contest to physical elder abuse resulting in death and admitted to using a weapon for the deadly assault.
Bross, 90, was found dead inside his home on the 1400 block of Strand Way on Jan. 24, 2019.
Sheriff's officials said an autopsy determined Bross’s cause of death to be "multiple chop force traumatic injuries."
Krause, 41, was reportedly already in custody at the San Luis Obispo County Jail on unrelated charges when he was arrested in April 2021 in connection with Bross’s murder.
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said forensic evidence, specifically a DNA match, helped identify Krause as the suspect.
The district attorney’s office said the victim and suspect had met before but could not go into detail on their relationship or the motive for the killing.
Krause is set to be sentenced on Oct. 27 and faces a sentence of 30 years to life behind bars.
The DA’s Office says he also has a prior strike under California’s Three Strikes Law for a residential burglary in 2016.
