A California woman who helped plan the killing of her stepfather when she was a teenager has been granted another chance at freedom, even as the case remains marked by the victim’s desperate final plea for his life.
Brae Hansen, now 37, was approved for parole Friday after spending roughly two decades behind bars for the 2007 murder of her stepfather, Timothy MacNeil.
Hansen and her sibling, then known as Nathaniel Marcus Gann and now named Aerith Asora after transitioning, were teenagers when they were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in MacNeil’s death.
Court filings and the Daily Mail reported that the pair tried to disguise the killing as a home invasion.
At the time of the 2007 murder, Hansen was living with MacNeil on Marraco Drive in San Diego’s Rolando neighborhood. Her mother had died by suicide the previous year.
After that loss, MacNeil started dating another woman, a development that left Hansen feeling “unloved and worthless,” according to court records.
The conflict escalated after MacNeil told Hansen she would need to leave the home once she turned 18.
Hansen then contacted Asora, who was attending college in Arizona, and the two began planning MacNeil’s murder.
Their first plan was to hire a hitman. They went as far as leaving money, their late mother’s gun and a spare house key outside the home.
But when they couldn’t find a killer for hire, Asora decided to do the job.
Hansen later told police she changed her mind about killing her stepfather after the hitman plan fell through.
Asora wasn’t backing down.
On July 19, 2007, Asora drove to San Diego, woke Hansen and told her she intended to go through with the murder “whether she wanted to or not,” according to court documents.
Asora then shot MacNeil multiple times — above his right hip, in the face, shoulder and back of the head.
He died at the scene.
MacNeil’s alleged final words were, “Why are you killing me, Nathan?” and “Why are you doing this to me?”
Asora fled, tossing the black clothes and ski mask they had worn into a tree before driving back to Arizona.
Police found MacNeil lying in a pool of blood inside the home — and Hansen cowering nearby with her hands zip-tied.
Detective Maria Rivera initially interviewed Hansen at the police station before taking her to the home of her aunt and uncle, Richard and Bonnie MacNeil, according to court documents.
Rivera questioned Hansen again later that evening.
Hansen finally cracked, saying, “Nathan tied my hands.”
The statement exposed her involvement and pointed investigators toward the killer.
Hansen’s path to freedom was made possible in part by changes to California law that expanded parole consideration for people who committed crimes before turning 25.
Youth offenders can now qualify for special parole hearings, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Board of Parole Hearings.
Hansen’s first parole hearing was held Jan. 7, 2025, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
She was initially denied parole for three years, but the hearing was later moved up to Aug. 21, 2026.
The board granted her parole.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan strongly opposed her release.
“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,” Stephan said.
“We are deeply disappointed by the Board of Parole Hearings’ decision to grant Brae Hansen parole.”
