Drifter Sentenced to Die in Murder, Kidnaping Case
A judge on Tuesday sentenced a drifter to die in the gas chamber for murdering a 14-year-old Chatsworth girl and sexually assaulting, then shooting, her 13-year-old friend after abducting them from a residential street in 1987.
San Fernando Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen ordered Roland Norman Comtois, 60, handed over to the warden of San Quentin.
Comtois’ sentence, like all death sentences in California, will be automatically appealed to the state Supreme Court. He may pursue further appeals in federal court if his efforts at the state level fail.
In handing down the sentence Tuesday, Coen upheld a jury’s recommendation on June 21 that Comtois be put to death for the Sept. 19, 1987, murder of Wendy Masuhara and the attempted murder and sexual assault of her best friend.
More to Read
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.
