Caltech scientist's slaying is mystery

Man accused of killing astrophysicist in desert town had prior run-ins with the law.

- BY SALVADOR HERNANDEZ

Situated deep in the Mojave desert, Llano is secluded — and that’s always been one of its biggest selling points.

More than a century ago, the hamlet was home to a storied socialist cooperative that historians described as one of America’s most significant Utopian societies. The Llano Del Rio Cooperative Colony is long gone, but its stone remains are perhaps the biggest attraction in a place marked by vast open spaces dotted with homes on sprawling lots.