Murder Trial to Begin December 4

Following several postponements, jury selection in the Ryan Bright murder trial will begin December 4 at 10:00am at the Airport Courthouse E. Attorneys expect the trial to last 2-3 weeks.

Ryan Bright is charged with one count of murder with premeditation and deliberation (Penal Code section 187(a)) with a knife enhancement. This is considered first degree murder.

The victim’s name is Jensen Gray, 27. Bright and Gray were both from Laguna Beach and attended Laguna Beach High School together. At the time of the incident, which took place in Santa Monica, Mr. Bright and Mr. Gray were roommates and friends.

Attorney Andrew Flier is representing Mr. Bright. Mr. Flier will be available to interview about the trial during the lunch break, when court recesses for the day and by arrangement.

On July 12, 2012, the SMPD responded to an apartment at 425 Broadway at 3:25 a.m. based on a 911 call reporting that someone was stabbed, said Santa Monica police Sgt. Richard Lewis.

The victim, a young man, was dead at the scene, he said. In fact, the body was still there this afternoon as a crime scene investigation took place and the coroner’s office was notified of the death, Lewis told us.

Arriving officers heard a female screaming and found the man, in his mid- to early-20s, dead in the living room of the apartment, he said.

A suspect was there too, and he was arrested, Lewis said. He was later identified as Ryan Bright.

Others at the scene were detained as witnesses, according to the sergeant.

“It is believed they knew each other,” Lewis said of the suspect and victim. They were apparently friends on Facebook, and the victim had been attending a party at the unit.

The upscale complex where the crime took place is known as the Archstone Santa Monica Apartments. It stands across the street from celebrity-patronized clothing boutique Fred Segal.

Police in 2012 identified the suspect as 26-year-old Ryan Taylor Bright of Santa Monica. A Santa Monica police statement says he was booked on suspicion of murder and was being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

The killing was the only murder in Santa Monica in 2012