Jury Urges Gas Chamber for Man Who Killed Girl
The same jury that found Roland Norman Comtois guilty of murdering a 14-year-old Chatsworth girl and shooting and sexually assaulting her best friend recommended Thursday that the 60-year-old transient die in the gas chamber.
The gray-bearded Comtois trembled as the clerk read the jury’s recommendation of death, then wiped his eyes as he was led from the crowded courtroom by sheriff’s deputies.
Comtois was convicted June 6 on eight felony counts--including murder, attempted murder, sexual assault and kidnaping--in the 1987 abduction and shooting of Wendy Masuhara and her 13-year-old friend. Masuhara died, but the other girl, now 16, survived and testified against Comtois.
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.
