The daughter of a Redding murder victim is suing his convicted killer, as well as the murderer’s mother. 37-year-old Robert Parker Milton killed his neighbor, 71-year-old William Dressler, in the Wilshire Drive Neighborhood west of Bechelli. Milton shot Dressler and then struck him in the head twice with a cinder block, killing him. Milton pled not guilty by reason of insanity. During trial Milton’s defense argued that he was driven by psychosis and paranoid delusions and that he thought Dressler was a cyborg or doppelganger who had been sent to kill him and replace him. A jury found Milton guilty of first degree murder with enhancements that the crime involved great violence and a high degree of cruelty, viciousness or callousness, and that Milton is a danger to society. In another phase of the trial the jury decided that he was sane and should go to prison and not to a mental institution. He could be given a prison sentence of more than 50 years-to-life when he’s sentenced September 21st. Dressler’s daughter, 26-year-old Brittany Dressler, filed a civil suit last week against Milton for wrongful death. Also named in the suit is Miton’s mother, former Redding Mayor Missy McArthur. She owned the house where Milton was living when he committed the murder. The suit alleges that McArthur knew about her son’s poor mental health, that he had carried out prior acts of violence and that he had access to a gun. The lawsuit says that makes her partially responsible.
-Steve Gibson