LOS ANGELES : Widow Sentenced to Death for Having Husband Killed
A jury decided Monday that a Westwood auto shop owner’s widow should be sentenced to death for contracting her husband’s murder in order to collect a $400,000 life insurance policy.
Catherine Thompson showed no reaction as the court clerk read the Superior Court jury’s verdict after less than a day of deliberations. Judge George Trammell will sentence Thompson on Jan. 15 for the contract killing of Melvin Thompson.
Thompson was gunned down June 14, 1990, in the bathroom of his shop, Kayser’s Service, on Santa Monica Boulevard near Greenfield Avenue. Gunman Phillip Sanders was convicted with Thompson.
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.
