Sentenced in Murder of Ex-Girlfriend : Killer Faces 25-Year-to-Life Term

A spurned lover convicted of killing his girlfriend and burying her body twice in the Mojave Desert was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life in state prison, the maximum allowed by law.

Gerald Lee Bishop Jr., 24, of Westminister was sentenced by Orange County Superior Court Judge Jean M. Rheinheimer in Santa Ana. Bishop was convicted of strangling, then drowning his ex-girlfriend, Marina Garcia, 23, of Huntington Beach, nearly a year ago.

“It is a particularly deplorable crime, and we’re pleased that (Bishop) was sentenced to the maximum allowable punishment,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Toohey.

Bishop’s attorney, public defender David C. Biggs, said he felt the sentence was too harsh. Biggs contended that Bishop killed Garcia in a fit of passion, and was only guilty of manslaughter, punishable by a maximum of 11 years in prison.

Bishop was convicted of the June 3, 1988, murder of Garcia. A former girlfriend of Bishop’s testified during the trial that she heard him mention the idea of killing Garcia the day before the murder. According to testimony, Garcia was attempting to end a long relationship with Bishop shortly before the crime.

The next day, Bishop choked and then drowned Garcia in the bathtub of her Huntington Beach home. After cleaning up the house, Bishop took her body and buried it in the desert near Victorville. He returned later with his brother to dig a deeper hole for fear that the body would be discovered.

Biggs maintained his client killed Garcia in the heat of passion during a vicious argument and should have received a lighter sentence.

“He will be punished like everyone else,” Biggs said Friday. “But he is not like everyone else.”

He described Bishop as having learning difficulties.

Bishop “understands very little of what is going on,” Biggs said. “He only gets about a third of what he is hearing.”

But prosecutor Toohey disagreed.

“He certainly knew what he was doing that day” when the murder was committed, Toohey said. Bishop tried to feign ignorance about the crime by going to Garcia’s father’s house to ask where the victim was after her murder, Toohey said. He also cashed a paycheck that Garcia had just received, according to Toohey.