Man pleads not guilty in pregnant woman’s rape, slaying

A 22-year-old man accused of raping and fatally stabbing a Venice woman who was pregnant with twins pleaded not guilty to the crime Thursday.

Boneetio Kentro Washington was charged with three counts of capital murder with the special circumstances of multiple murders in the Dec. 8 death of Eun Kang, 38, as well as murder during a rape and murder during a burglary. He is also charged with one count of rape and one count of sexual penetration.

Washington had previous arrests for burglary and trespassing in Santa Monica and Los Angeles and misdemeanor trespassing arrests in Rhode Island and North Carolina. But nothing in his past appeared to show a predisposition to the kind of violence that occurred in the Venice slaying, according to people familiar with the case who asked not to be identified because the investigation was continuing.

Court records show that Washington was charged in a residential burglary in Los Angeles in December 2008. The case was delayed after a doctor testified that Washington was not mentally competent to stand trial. Washington was committed to Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino County on July 7.

On Sept. 18, Washington returned to court with a certification from the facility that he was mentally able to stand trial.

He pleaded no contest to first-degree residential burglary and was placed on formal probation before his release from custody for previous time served and credit for work and good behavior.

andrew.blankstein

@latimes.com