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Man Pleads Not Guilty To Murder Of Irvine Dad At Malibu Creek State Park

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - A man accused of killing a research scientist who was camping with his two young daughters last June in Malibu Creek State Park plead not guilty Tuesday to murder and other charges.

Anthony Rauda entered the not guilty plea through his attorney.

Tristan Beaudette, a 35-year-old chemist from Irvine, was found fatally shot last June while camping with his two- and four-year-old daughters. The girls were not hurt, but were listed as victims of attempted murder in the felony complaint.

The investigation into Beaudette's killing uncovered several other shootings at or near Malibu Creek State Park over the past two years. The campgrounds were shut down until further notice as the investigation got underway, and since then, several structures in the park were damaged by the Woolsey Fire.

Prosecutors say Rauda terrorized the area since November 2016, when he wounded a man who was sleeping in a hammock in the Malibu State Park area. Less than a week later, Rauda allegedly fired into the sleeping area of a vehicle.

anthony rauda
Anthony Rauda during a court appearance Nov. 29, 2018. (Photo credit: John Schreiber/CBS)

The criminal complaint also accuses Rauda of shooting into vehicles on three different occasions in 2017. No one was injured in those shootings, which were reportedly at random.

Authorities described Rauda as a "survivalist" who lived off stolen food while often sleeping outside in the Malibu area. He was arrested in October on suspicion of burglary after authorities spotted him on a ridge top carrying a rifle in his backpack.

Rauda was sentenced in December to six months in jail for gun and ammunition violations. That sentence will run consecutively with an earlier 160-day sentence for violating parole, according to the District Attorney's Office.

He's due back in court Feb. 4 for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for him to stand trial.

He remains jailed on $10 million bail.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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