The husband who served a little over half his 12-year prison sentence for killing his wife in 2010 while on vacation in Mexico was back at his home in Gardena Tuesday, leaving some of his neighbors feeling uneasy.
"I'm surprised and disappointed," neighbor Maria Doll said.
Bruce Beresford-Redman, a once TV producer, has been released from a Mexican prison after serving seven years of a 12 year sentence. He was convicted of killing his wife Monica in 2010 during a family vacation at the Moon Palace Resort outside of Cancun.
"In the old days people got executed for doing stuff like that. I guess nowadays you get a second chance," Doll said
The case made international headlines in 2010 when his wife Monica's strangled body was found dumped in a septic tank at the high-end resort on what would have been her 42nd birthday.
She was well-known in Los Angeles as the owner of the now-closed Zabumba restaurant - a trendy Brazilian hot spot.
La Palabra, the newspaper in Quintana Roo where the murder occurred, reports that Beresford-Redman was released from Cereso, one of mexico's most dangerous prisons June 20. He was released with credit for good behavior and that he paid $2,000 in restitution, the paper reported.
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Beresford-Redman, who is now 48, has always maintained his innocence.
His two children, who were 5 and 7 at the time of the murder, have been living with his parents at his home in Gardena. His father died last year.
No one at the home answered the door to provide comment, but several neighbors told us they don't think he served enough time for such a heinous crime.
"Most people don't think so," Doll said. "[He] should be old and gray by the time he gets out."
Beresford-Redman's former attorney Jaime Cancino in Mexico said under Mexican law, prisoners are eligible for release after serving 60% of their sentence. Since Beresford-Redman spent nearly a year in jail in Los Angeles before being extradited to Mexico, that would qualify him for release.
NBCLA reached out to Monica Beresford-Redman's sisters, but through their attorney they declined to comment on his release from prison.
