Here's a depressing way to begin a post-Easter week:
"A jury convicted defendant, Ruben Becerrada, of the first degree murder of
Maria Arevalo with the special circumstances of killing a witness, murder in the
commission of kidnapping, and lying in wait. As to the murder, it found true a
weapon enhancement allegation. It also found defendant guilty of rape, forcibly
dissuading a witness, and kidnapping."
Needless to say, the jury imposed the death penalty, and the California Supreme Court unanimously affirms the judgment.
The actual details of the crime, and the horrific domestic violence that Ms. Arevalo endured over a long period of time, are even more chilling than the one-paragraph introduction at the outset of the opinion.
