CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : MADERA : Man Sentenced to Die in 2 Slayings
A Madera man convicted of murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend and her brother-in-law was ordered to die in the California gas chamber. An appeal of the death sentence against Anthony Townsel, 23, is automatic under state law. A jury had found Townsel guilty of first-degree murder in the 1989 shootings of Martha Diaz, 20, and Mauricio Martinez Jr., 23. Assistant Dist. Atty. Ernest LiCalsi told the jury that Townsel killed his ex-girlfriend because she had left him after a fight and moved in with her sister and Martinez.
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