Man, 67, gets prison for beating man to death in Koreatown

A 67-year-old man was sentenced to nine years in state prison Tuesday for beating a man to death in Koreatown, prosecutors said.

Roy Lee Adams was sentenced after pleading guilty to murder in the death of 62-year-old Cornelius Rich, who beaten with a blunt object in March 2013, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Rich’s body was found by his landlord more than a week after he was killed in the 500 block of Kingsley Drive after residents complained of a foul smell emanating from the apartment.

Adams was linked to the crime after police found a small piece of latex, believed to have come from a glove, along the zipper of Rich’s pants. DNA pulled off the glove matched a sample in the national law enforcement DNA database that belonged to Adams, according to officials.

Adams and Rich had seemed to be friends, but the motive for the killing appeared to be robbery, authorities said. The latex was possibly left behind as Adams searched for cash, according to police.

Adams has previous convictions for drugs, trying to escape from prison and carrying an unregistered, loaded gun, officials said.

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