Dad convicted of hurling child off cliff gets life term

File-This May 13, 2015, file photo shows Sarah Key-Marer, left, mother of 4-year-old Lauren Sarene Key who was slain in 2000, reacting with her best friend Annette Watling, right, after Cameron Brown was found guilty on murder charges in the death of his daughter Lauren. The first-degree murder conviction in May came about a dozen years after Brown was arrested and followed two previous trials when jurors decided the death was a crime, but they couldn't agree whether it was murder or manslaughter. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, File) File-This May 13, 2015, file photo shows Sarah Key-Marer, left, mother of 4-year-old Lauren Sarene Key who was slain in 2000, reacting with her best friend Annette Watling, right, after Cameron Brown was found guilty on murder charges in the death of his daughter Lauren. The first-degree murder conviction in May came about a dozen years after Brown was arrested and followed two previous trials when jurors decided the death was a crime, but they couldn't agree whether it was murder or manslaughter. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, File)

By Associated Press September 18, 2015 1 min read

LOS ANGELES (AP) – A father who tossed his 4-year-old daughter to her death off a Southern California seaside cliff has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Cameron Brown’s sentence Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court was mandatory after he was convicted of first-degree murder.

Brown was convicted in May at his third trial in the death of Lauren Sarene Key who plunged 120 feet to her death in November 2000.

Brown was in a bitter custody dispute with the girl’s mother at the time and prosecutors say he never wanted the child.

Brown’s lawyer acknowledged his client was a bad father, but said the girl tripped and fell as she ran toward Inspiration Point in Rancho Palos Verdes.