Huntington Beach homicide victim, 78, likely related to suspect being held on $1M bail
A woman whose body was discovered inside a Huntington Beach home the morning of Nov. 17 — prompting the arrest of a 48-year-old woman on suspicion of murder — has been identified, officials reported.
Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Mike Woodroof said Tuesday the coroner’s office had identified the decedent as Sondra Lee Pettner, 78, of Huntington Beach.
The listed homeowner at 6032 Tyndall Drive, where the incident took place, Pettner appears to be related to suspect Christine Ann Lamphier, a self-described nurse taken into custody by Huntington Beach police.
Lamphier is being held in jail on $1 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 12 for an arraignment and bail review hearing. Prosecutors allege her offenses involved “great bodily harm, threat of great bodily harm and other acts disclosing a high degree of cruelty, viciousness and callousness.”
Police were called Friday to a home on Tyndall Drive, where they found a deceased elderly woman. Christine Ann Lamphier is being held on $1-million bail.
Court records indicate that Lamphier has also gone by the name “Christine Ann Pettner.” An online genealogy site references an April 1996 wedding ceremony in Nevada, between someone of that name and a man with the surname Lamphier.
The suspect maintained multiple accounts on social media — using both surnames, sometimes in conjunction — that placed her in Huntington Beach and Manhattan, N.Y.
Voting records for Lamphier list the home at 6032 Tyndall Drive as her official residence, though authorities are not elaborating on whether she was residing at the property when the incident occurred.
In 2019, Lamphier was at the center of a handful of hearings involving a mental health conservatorship, court records indicate. However, the outcome of those proceedings, or whether Lamphier is or was the subject of public guardianship, are unknown.
Anyone with information related to this crime is asked to contact Sgt. Anthony Pham at (714) 878-5640.
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