Poker Player Ordered to Stand Trial for Murder of Parents

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22 August, 2009

OAKLAND, Calif. (KCBS) -- A professional poker player was ordered to stand trial Friday on charges that he murdered his parents at their posh country club home.

Judge Jeffrey Horner spent 50 minutes outlining the evidence against Ernest Scherer III.

He said whoever killed Ernest Scherer II and Charlene Abendroth must have been a very angry person, noting that the victims had been stabbed 6 and 12 times respectively.

Prosecutors said Scherer III killed his parents in their Castlewood Country Club home last March, claiming he had financial motives.

It's also been reported that he had serious financial troubles from gambling debt and living a high lifestyle in Southern California and Las Vegas.

Scherer III is accused of two counts of murder and also faces two special circumstance allegations that could bring him the death penalty, although the DA's office hasn't decided whether to seek it.

The judge in the case has ordered a wide ranging gag order for attorneys in the case.

Scherer III is scheduled back in court in early September.

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