Huntington Beach : Woman Sentenced for Husband’s Murder
A woman was sentenced to serve 26 years to life in state prison for helping her lover arrange her husband’s murder for his $500,000 life-insurance policy.
It was the maximum sentence that Superior Court Judge Jean Rheinheimer could give Jeanette Hughes, 31, of Huntington Beach, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Rick Toohey.
A jury convicted Hughes last December after three trials on charges of conspiracy and murder in the death of James Hughes, 37, who was killed while he slept in the couple’s home in January, 1984.
Jeanette Hughes’ lover at the time, Adam Salas Ramirez, 44, of Stanton has been convicted of first-degree murder for the shooting and is now serving a state prison term.
Rheinheimer allowed Hughes to visit with her son, Todd, 11, after Friday’s sentencing.
Hughes and Ramirez blamed each other for the murder during their separate trials.
Hughes’ first trial ended when a judge decided that the defendants needed to be tried separately, and the second trial became deadlocked when a holdout juror refused to vote for conviction.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
