Son told cops ‘robber’ shot his dad, beat mom, CA officials say. He’s convicted
A man accused of falsely telling police a “robber” shot his father and beat his mother has been convicted, California prosecutors say.
Edward James Pull, 39, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his father, Edward William Pull, the Kern County District Attorney’s Office said in a May 27 news release.
“This was a heinous and calculated act, one that the victims never saw coming,” Assistant District Attorney Joseph Kinzel said in the release.
Bakersfield police responded to a report of a possible robbery the morning of Dec. 11, 2017, prosecutors said.
Officers arrived to find Edward William Pull and his wife bleeding on the floor, prosecutors said.
Edward James Pull told officers a robber entered their home, then “shot his father and beat his mother,” prosecutors said.
However, later in the morning, the mother debunked her son’s story, telling officers he was behind the attacks, prosecutors said.
Video surveillance captured inside the home showed Edward James Pull in a mask and gloves leaving his bedroom armed with a “loaded AR-15 style MR Carbine firearm,” according to prosecutors.
“He stormed into his father’s bedroom and pointed the gun at him and began yelling,” prosecutors said.
The mother “heard the commotion” and rushed inside the room, prosecutors said.
Then, Edward James Pull beat his mother with the rifle, leaving her with an eight-inch gash on her head and cuts and bruises all over her body, prosecutors said.
When the father tried to help his wife, Edward James Pull began to attack him with the rifle, prosecutors said.
As Edward William Pull “tried to save himself and his wife from the attack,” his son shot him in the stomach and leg, prosecutors said.
Edward James Pull did not call for help right away, prosecutors said.
Instead, he waited four hours and “forced his mother to help him clean up the crime scene, hide and destroy evidence and come up with a lie to tell police,” according to prosecutors.
After officers arrived, Edward William Pull was taken to a hospital, “where he underwent several operations,” prosecutors said.
Despite efforts to save the father, the injuries to his abdomen were “too severe,” and he died a week later, prosecutors said.
In addition to second-degree murder, a jury also found Edward James Pull guilty of “assault with an AR-15 style rifle causing great bodily injury, false imprisonment, elder abuse, and being a felon in possession of a firearm,” prosecutors said.
During a bench trial, a judge found “several aggravating factors including the defendant’s prior convictions” to be true, prosecutors said.
Edward James Pull has “three prior 2006 felony convictions for lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14,” according to prosecutors.
“Not only did the defendant take the life of his own father, but he also attempted to cover it up and force his mother into being his accomplice,” Kinzel said.” Yet despite his efforts to evade accountability, justice prevailed in the end.”
Edward James Pull is scheduled to appear in court July 15 and “faces multiple life sentences,” prosecutors said.
Bakersfield is about a 110-mile drive northwest from Los Angeles.
This story was originally published May 29, 2025 at 12:50 PM with the headline "Son told cops ‘robber’ shot his dad, beat mom, CA officials say. He’s convicted."
