Man Sentenced in Woman’s Death : Plea Bargain: The judge gives the Arleta defendant 15 years to life in prison for killing his benefactor, a 73-year-old woman.

A 25-year-old Arleta man who made an unsuccessful attempt to withdraw his guilty plea was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in prison for killing an elderly woman who had taken him in as an act of kindness.

San Fernando Superior Court Judge John H. Major rejected a motion by Marshall Louis Deerwester, who asked to withdraw his plea of guilty to charges that he deliberately gave Retha Pauline Terry, 73, a fatal overdose of pain medication in her Arleta home on Oct. 11, 1987.

Prosecutors originally charged Deerwester with first-degree murder with the special allegations of killing for financial gain and using poison. If he had been convicted on all counts, he could have been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.

In November, shortly before his trial was to begin, Deerwester accepted an agreement with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to reduced charges of second-degree murder.

But when he appeared for his sentencing last month, Deerwester recanted. He told Major that he was innocent and wanted to go to trial. He said he had accepted the plea bargain out of fear of a lifetime prison sentence if he had been found guilty at his trial.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Craig R. Richman argued Friday that Deerwester was merely suffering from a case of “post-plea apprehension,” which he said was insufficient legal reason for him to be allowed to change his plea.

Rejecting Deerwester’s request, Major agreed that there was no evidence that Deerwester pleaded under duress. The judge said he believed Deerwester clearly understood the implications of his plea, then sentenced him to the term dictated by law--15 years to life in prison.

Deerwester and Terry met at the First Baptist Church of Arleta 2 1/2 years before her death. Deerwester was living in a van in the Hansen Dam Recreation Area, and Terry, who was recovering from a foot injury, agreed to let him live in her house in exchange for doing chores, running errands and driving her around town.

In August, 1986, Terry rewrote her will and named Deerwester as the primary beneficiary of her $150,000 estate. Prosecutors said he killed her to inherit the money.

After his arrest, Deerwester said he gave her the overdose because she was in tremendous pain from a variety of maladies, and he believed she wished to die to end her suffering. Terry had diabetes, a kidney problem and a bad foot.

Before the sentencing, Deerwester’s attorney, Timothy M. Murphy, told Major that Deerwester “loved Terry as he loved his own mother.”