Mother to be re-tried for daughter’s 1969 death

Donna Prentice, accused of killing her 3-year-old daughter Michelle Pulsifer 39 years ago in Huntington Beach, will be re-tried on Monday.

Prentice, 61, was tried for the murder in 2007, but a jury was unable to reach a verdict. She will be re-tried on one felony count of murder based on the sentencing laws of 1969.

Prentice’s former boyfriend and co-defendant in the case, James Michael Kent, died of kidney shutdown and diabetes in 2005, shortly after confessing to burying Michelle’s body, according to authorities. He was facing murder charges as well, the result of a yearlong investigation by the district attorney’s cold case unit.

In 1969, Prentice and her two children, Michelle and a 6-year-old son, were living in Huntington Beach with Kent and his son. In the summer of 1969, Michelle went missing. Within a few days of Michelle’s disappearance, the couple is accused of packing their belongings into their car and leaving Orange County with the two remaining sons and the family pets, according to authorities.

In 2001, Michelle’s aunt hired a private investigator, who brought the case to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Opening statements are scheduled to begin 10 a.m. Monday at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. Prentice faces a maximum sentence of 5 years to life in prison if convicted.

— Jennifer Frehn