Man Sentenced In 2023 Harbison Canyon Killing

SAN DIEGO, CA — A man convicted of killing a 59-year-old man in 2023 was sentenced to 216 years to life in state prison, authorities announced Tuesday.

Kenneth McNally, 42, was sentenced Friday for the murder of Samuel Holthaus, whose body was discovered Sept. 3, 2023, at a residence in the 1200 block of Harbison Canyon Road in unincorporated El Cajon, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies responded to the home around 3:30 p.m. after receiving a report of a suspicious death and found Holthaus deceased with trauma to his upper body, sheriff's officials said. The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office later ruled the death a homicide.

Sheriff's homicide detectives identified McNally as the suspect through their investigation. He was later arrested by the Sheriff's Fugitive Task Force.

A jury convicted McNally of first-degree murder, two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, shooting at an inhabited occupied structure or vehicle, and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury.