Napa County district attorney charges Angwin father with murder linked to DUI-related death of son
Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley announced this week the filing of murder charges against Aaron Brian Kennedy, age 35, of Angwin, in connection with a suspected DUI-related collision that resulted in the death of Kennedy’s 10-year-old son, Aiden.
The defendant was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol on the evening of July 18, 2025, when he crashed into another vehicle on Chiles Pope Valley Road, at Barnett Road, in St. Helena. Kennedy’s son, who was his passenger in the vehicle, sustained fatal injuries during the collision and the driver of the other vehicle involved sustained minor injuries.
The defendant additionally faces felony charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated; DUI causing injury; driving with a .08 percent blood alcohol content causing injury with a prior conviction; driving under the influence of alcohol and a drug causing injury; child abuse; assembly, maintenance or placement of a booby trap; and one misdemeanor count of being an unlicensed driver.
Kennedy also faces allegations that he had two prior DUI convictions at the time of the crash; excessive blood alcohol content; that his passenger was a person under the age of 14; that the crimes amount to a serious felony for specified vehicle-related crimes; that the crash caused bodily injury to more than one victim; involved great bodily injury, a vulnerable victim and violence, cruelty, viciousness or callousness; that he was in position of trust; and that the crimes reveal an increasing level of seriousness from past crimes.
Kennedy, who is recovering from injuries sustained during the crash, was administratively booked into the Napa County Department of Corrections. He will be transported to jail upon his release from the hospital.
Napa County Deputy District Attorney Shashawnya Worley, who is prosecuting the case against Kennedy, appeared in court to request the matter be put on calendar for Friday, July 25, as the suspect recovers from his injuries at the hospital.
Napa County Superior Court Judge Elia Ortiz agreed with DDA Worley, placed the case on calendar for Friday, and ordered no bail for the defendant. Further details regarding this case will not be released at this time, as DDA Worley prepares the case against Kennedy.
