The name Charles Rothenberg—or Charley Charles, as he later reinvented himself—triggers a very specific, visceral memory for anyone who lived through the early 1980s. It’s a story of a motel room in Buena Park, kerosene, and a six-year-old boy named David.
Honestly, it’s one of those cases that doesn't just fade away. People still search for his name because the crime was so fundamentally incomprehensible. But as we move through 2024 and into 2025, the trail has gone cold for many.
So, let's get into it. Is Charles Rothenberg still alive in 2024? Based on the most recent California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) records and court filings, Charles Rothenberg is believed to be alive, though he is essentially a ghost within the system. Born in 1940, he would be roughly 84 years old today. He isn't walking the streets, though. He is serving a massive sentence that ensures he’ll likely never see the outside of a cell again.
The Three Strikes Law Finally Caught Up
You might remember he got out of prison relatively quickly after the 1983 attack on his son. He served less than seven years of a 13-year sentence. People were outraged. It felt like a massive failure of justice.
But Rothenberg couldn't stay out of trouble.
By the late 90s and early 2000s, he was back in the crosshairs of the law. He moved to San Francisco, changed his name to Charley Charles, and tried to blend in. It didn't work. In 2007, a judge finally threw the book at him.
He was convicted of various offenses, including weapons charges (being a felon in possession of a firearm). Because of his prior record—the "strikes" from his horrific past—he was sentenced to 25 years to life.
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He’s been tucked away in the California state prison system ever since. While there haven't been public headlines about his death, men of his age in high-security facilities often deal with significant health declines. Unless an official obituary or a CDCR death notification is released, he remains on the books as an inmate.
The Tragic Passing of Dave Dave
It’s impossible to talk about the father without mentioning the son. David Rothenberg eventually changed his name to Dave Dave. He wanted to shed the name of the man who tried to kill him. He wanted to be his own person, defined by his art and his spirit, not his scars.
Dave Dave was incredible. He became a respected artist in Las Vegas and was even a close friend of Michael Jackson.
But here is the sad part: while the father sits in a cell, the son is gone. Dave Dave died in July 2018 at the age of 42. He passed away at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas due to complications from pneumonia.
There’s a deep, bitter irony in the fact that David, who survived 90% burns and decades of surgeries, passed away relatively young, while Charles Rothenberg continues to age behind bars.
Why the Internet is Confused About His Status
If you've been Googling this, you've probably seen a few different "Charles Rothenbergs" popping up in obituaries.
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- There was a Charles Rothenberg who was a prominent lawyer.
- Another Charles Rothenberg was a war veteran from Illinois.
- You'll even find real estate experts with the same name.
None of these men are the Charles Rothenberg from the 1983 Buena Park case. This is why people get confused. They see a death notice for a "Charles Rothenberg" and assume the story has ended. But the Charley Charles who doused his son in kerosene is a specific individual with a specific inmate number in California.
The Reality of His Current Life
Life for an 84-year-old in a California prison is rarely "news." Unless there’s a major parole hearing or a death, the state doesn't provide daily updates on inmates.
Because of the nature of his crime, Rothenberg was never a popular figure in the prison yard. He spent much of his time in protective custody or specialized housing. He’s basically spent the last 17 years in a slow, monotonous crawl toward the end of his life.
Is he a "born-again Christian" as he once claimed? Is he still trying to justify what he did as a "failed suicide pact"? We don't really know. He hasn't given a major interview in years. He’s just another number in the system.
The Legacy of the Case
The Charles Rothenberg case actually changed how California handled child abuse and parole. The public outcry over his early release in the 90s was a major catalyst for tougher sentencing laws.
Basically, the system failed David Rothenberg the first time around. The 2007 life sentence was the state’s way of making sure they didn't fail a second time.
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What You Should Know Now
If you are looking for closure on this story, here is the reality:
- Charles Rothenberg (Charley Charles) is presumed alive and incarcerated in California as of late 2024.
- Dave Dave, his son, passed away in 2018.
- The elder Rothenberg is serving 25 years to life, meaning he is unlikely to ever be paroled given his age and history.
The best way to honor this story isn't by focusing on the man in the cell. It's by remembering Dave Dave—the man who took a tragedy and turned it into a life of art and resilience. He chose to forgive, not because his father deserved it, but because he didn't want to carry the weight of hatred.
If you're interested in the details of the 2007 trial or the specifics of his current incarceration status, you can check the California Department of Corrections Inmate Locator using the name Charley Charles or Charles Rothenberg. Just keep in mind that official records for elderly inmates are updated primarily upon a change in status, such as parole (unlikely) or death.
The story is essentially over. The man is behind bars, and the hero of the story has found peace.
Next Steps for Research:
You can verify the current housing location of an inmate through the CDCR Public Inmate Locator tool. Use the name Charley Charles to find the most accurate record, as that was his legal name at the time of his last conviction. Avoid unofficial "celebrity death" websites, as they frequently conflate the criminal Rothenberg with other private citizens of the same name.