Local News in Brief : Van Nuys Man Gets 32 Years for Strangling Friend’s Ex-Wife

A32-year-old Van Nuys man was sentenced to 32 years to life Thursday for the stabbing and strangulation last year of a friend’s ex-wife.

Richard Burch Jr. sat motionless as Van Nuys Superior Court Judge George Xanthos handed down the sentence for the Feb. 19 murder of Kathleen McCafferty, 25, of Van Nuys.

Prosecutors originally had sought the death penalty. But the request was denied because there was insufficient evidence to prove that Burch tortured and attempted to rape McCafferty, Deputy Dist. Atty. Simon R. Hiller said.

Burch was convicted Feb. 28, largely on the testimony of McCafferty’s 8-year-old stepson, Hines Buchanan III, who was in the apartment at the time of the killing, Hiller said.

The boy testified that he heard his stepmother call to him about midnight, and, when he got out of bed and went into the living room, saw Burch beating her while her wrists were bound above her head.

The boy said he then went into the kitchen, pulled a butcher knife from a drawer and threw it at Burch, who deflected it. Burch then threw the boy against the living room table and ordered him to return to his bedroom, according to testimony.

The boy went to bed and, when he awoke several hours later, he said, found McCafferty’s body clothed only in a bloodstained blouse and bra.

Burch, a former farm equipment operator from Mississippi, was given 25 years to life for the murder and another seven years for using a knife in the attack and for previous felonies.

Defense attorney Bernard J. Rosen, who had argued for a second-degree murder conviction, said he will appeal the sentence.