VENTURA : Arson Killer Gets 25 Years to Life

A 44-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the murder of a 2-year-old girl, who died after he set fire to a Ventura apartment building.

Calvin Michael Mitchell, a mechanic, was sentenced last week in connection with the March 24 fire that took the life of Sarah Galka, who was sleeping when the fire was set.

Mitchell earlier pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and attempted murder. He intended to kill a woman who lived in the apartment building across the hall from the toddler, Deputy Dist. Atty. James Ellison said. Mitchell was angry with the woman who he claimed was his former girlfriend.

Mitchell could be eligible for parole in 16 years and eight months for the murder, Ellison said. But because he received a second sentence of life in prison for attempted murder, the state parole board is not likely to release him until he has served at least 20 years, the prosecutor said.

Mitchell started the fire at 90 S. Laurel St. on the second-floor landing of the building, and it spread from the woman’s apartment to the toddler’s. Sarah died of smoke inhalation.

During the sentencing hearing, Lainie Galka, Sarah’s mother, said she suffered from nightmares and insomnia over the loss of her child and is afraid to have another child. Mitchell wept as she spoke.