Anaheim man gets 16 years to life in prison for fatally beating his mother

Seth Allen White, a 24-year-old man, was sentenced last week to 16 years to life in prison for beating his mother, 58-year-old Karen White, a veteran state Department of Corrections officer, to death with a baseball bat in Anaheim.

White was convicted on Feb. 16 of second-degree murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon, after the jury deliberated for about 2 1/2 hours. The jury rejected a first-degree murder charge.

On May 23, 2017, Anaheim police officers responded to a report of a female heard screaming and the sound of a fight inside a mobile home. When officers arrived, they found a female victim inside who was suffering from extensive head trauma and struggling to breathe.

The victim, 58-year-old Karen White, was transported to a local hospital and remained on life support. Patrol officers located Karen’s 18-year-old son, Seth White, near the crime scene, determined he was suspect in his mother’s assault and placed him under arrest. Seth confessed to detectives that he had attacked his mother with a baseball bat following an argument.

On April 1, 2018, Karen succumbed to her injuries. Karen was a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation corrections officer assigned to the California Institute for Men in Chino. She had worked for the department since November 1996.