A San Diego woman was granted parole last Friday after she and her sister plotted to kill their stepfather and make it look like a home invasion when they were teenagers.
Brae Hansen, 37, and her sister, Aerith Asora (formerly Nathaniel Marcus Gann) were convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life with no parole after the shooting their stepfather, Timothy MacNeil.
In 2007, Hansen, who was then 17, lived with stepfather MacNeil on Marraco Drive in the Rolando region of San Diego, court filings show.
Hansen and Asora's mother had committed suicide the year before. Their stepfather began dating a woman a few months after his wife's death, which made Hansen resentful and feel 'unloved and worthless,' according to court documents.
When MacNeil told Hansen she had to move out when she turns 18, Hansen's resentment turned into anger. She called her sister, Asora, who was then away at college in Arizona, and the two started planning how they would kill MacNeil.
The initial plan was to hire a hitman, who would snipe MacNeil while he was out with Hansen for her 18th birthday in July. Hansen took out money from two bank accounts to pay the killer, putting it in a box outside their house along with her late mother's gun and a spare house key.
Brae Hansen, 37, has been granted parole after she was convicted for the murder of her stepfather in 2007 when she was 17
August 21 2026, Brae Hansen was granted parole after she got sentenced for 25 years to life for conspiring with her sibling to kill their stepfather in 2007
Aerith Asora, formerly known as Nathaniel Marcus Gann, tried to petition for his own resentencing over the years and skew the blame towards his sister as the mastermind behind the crime. Parole has only been granted to his sister, Brae Hansen as of yet
The plan had to change since MacNeil spent his step-daughter's birthday with his new girlfriend instead.
Additionally, Asora couldn't figure out how to successfully hire a hitman, so she decided to step up to the role herself.
Hansen said that she changed her mind after they couldn't secure a hitman, a post-arrest interview with the police revealed, according to court filings. But the night of July 19 2007, Asora drove back to San Diego and woke Hansen up to tell her the plan will proceed 'whether she wanted to or not,' as is written in court documents.
Asora, wearing black clothes and a black ski mask, shot her step-dad above the right hip first, in the face second, in his shoulder third, and in the back of his head fourth. He died instantly.
'Why are you killing me, Nathan?' and 'Why are you doing this to me, Nathan?' were the man's final words.
Asora ran out of the house and threw her clothes and mask into a nearby tree, got in her truck, and drove back to Arizona.
Police arrived to the house to find MacNeil laying in a pool of blood, and Hansen cowering and her hands zip-tied.
Detective Maria Rivera spoke to Hansen at the police station right after the crime, and then took the presumed victim to her aunt and uncle, Richard and Bonnie MacNeil's residence, according to court documents.
That evening, Detective Rivera returned to speak with Hansen again, and Hansen slipped up and said 'Nathan tied my hands,' which revealed her participation in the crime, as well as the killer's identity.
Laws surrounding the prosecution of individuals aged 25 or younger have changed since 2007, enabling Hansen to go from no chance at parole to parole granted in a matter of years.
From 2014 to 2018, four different laws took effect in California, all aimed to give youthful offenders the benefit of the doubt on account of their youth.
Today, parole hearings are permitted to all who were under age 25 when they committed their offense, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Board of Parole Hearings.
The mask Asora wore at the time of the murder was found in a tree near the house
Aerith Asora bought black clothes at a Goodwill in Arizona, where she was attending college at the time, to prepare for the murder of their stepfather
Brae Hansen alleged that she changed her mind about murdering her father after her sibling failed to hire a hitman
According to the statement put out by the San Diego District Attorney's Office, Hansen's initial parole hearing was held on January 7, 2025. Parole was denied for three years, until it got moved up and was instead held on August 21 2026.
District Attorney Summer Stephan is strongly against Hansen's release, according to the statement put out by the DA's office. Stephan stated: 'This was a callous, premeditated murder motivated by greed that took the life of Timothy McNeil and forever changed the lives of his loved ones.
We are deeply disappointed by the Board of Parole Hearings’ decision to grant Brae Hansen parole.
Our office stood with Mr. McNeil’s family and opposed Hansen’s release, and we will continue to support them as they face the painful consequences of this decision.'
The DailyMail has reached out to the District Attorney's Office for further comment.
