'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUH/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAAJmdCf/EACEQAAICAQIHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEEAgMFABIGBxEhI0FR/9oACAEBAAE/AIcysiqWqnVEmVZtCryRl0o3yI+knWR47fqyDVYyFUhG2Q3VrgRPf0DHX//EABgRAQADAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAxIR/9oACAECAQE/AKda4KT/xAAaEQACAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgADBBJh/9oACAEDAQE/AMhK3GzoCeif/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
A professionally and socially recognized Laguna Beach event planner, Damon Nicholson, was found dead at his apartment in October 2009. He was bludgeoned to death and robbed of expensive electronic items, including a laptop and a mobile phone, among other belongings.
The investigation that followed directed authorities to two men, Matthew Thomas Dragna and Jacob Anthony Quintanilla, who were eventually arrested and charged with murder with a special circumstance, for beating Nicholson to death with a baseball bat before stealing from him. Both Dragna and Quintanilla later accepted plea deals.
An all-new episode of Real Murders of Orange County delves into Damon Nicholson's slaying this Friday, May 26, on Oxygen. The synopsis for the upcoming episode, titled Nightmare in Laguna, says:
"After a beloved party planner at an iconic Laguna Beach, Calif., hotel is found murdered at home, investigators use high-tech tools and old-fashioned shoe leather to capture two killers and restore calm to the tight-knit beachside community."
Damon Nicholson's murder: Four quick facts to know about the renowned event planner's bludgeoning death
1) Nicholson's co-worker found him dead in his apartment
Damon Nicholson was a popular event planner and manager at Hotel Laguna, known for his social events and Fourth of July parties in the community. He was found dead by one of his co-workers from the hotel on October 24, 2009, who was checking up on him after the 40-year-old failed to show up at work and answer calls.
According to the OC Weekly, Nicholson's co-worker found him slumped over with his face down on the white sofa. The victim resided alone in the two-bedroom apartment. A subsequent autopsy revealed that he was "bludgeoned to death" with a "cylindrical object," later confirmed to be a baseball bat.
2) Using a gay dating wesbite, authorities linked two men to the crime
Officers from the Laguna Beach Police Department were able to link two men, a 19-year-old college dropout Matthew Thomas Dragna and his 20-year-old lover Jacob Anthony Quintanilla to Damon Nicholson's murder after interrogating multiple contacts from a gay dating website.
Moreover, authorities discovered Nicholson's belongings, believed to have been stolen from his house at the time of the murder, at Dragna's home. A few of the victim's other possessions were discovered in a trash can located about two blocks from the suspect's house. Other reports state that DNA evidence found at the crime scene indicated that Dragna entered the 40-year-old's house that night.
3) Matthew Thomas Dragna and Damon Nicholson had a s*xual encounter the night before the murder
A witness informed authorities that he took Dragna to Nicholson's house on October 22 for a planned s*xual encounter. That was the first time the two men met. Then, authorities believed, in the early morning hours on October 23, the 19-year-old returned to Nicholson's house with his lover Jacob Anthony Quintanilla.
Both men entered the house via an unlocked sliding glass door while the event planner slept on his couch. They then struck him at least five times with a baseball bat in the back of the head and the torso, crushing his skull before stealing a laptop computer, his phone, and other electronic items and fleeing the crime scene.
4) Both Dragna and Quintanilla accepted plea deals a dozen years later
According to Laguna Beach Independent, Matthew Thomas Dragna and Jacob Anthony Quintanilla were arrested in November and December of that year, respectively. They were charged with murder with a special circumstance allegation of robbery.
In 2013, Dragna was found guilty in a controversial trial, but three years later, an appeals court awarded him a retrial after finding that Laguna Beach police had violated his right to counsel by questioning him further.
Finally, a dozen years later in October 2021, both Dragna and Quintanilla accepted respective plea deals in Damon Nicholson's slaying. The former pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, burglary, and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, agreeing to a sentencing enhancement. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Quintanilla also pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and burglary, receiving a sentence of seven years and four months. He was given credit for the 11 years he had previously served behind bars and did not have to serve any more time.
The premiere episode of Real Murders of Orange County's season 3 airs on Oxygen this Friday.
