WHITTIER : Burglar Sentenced to Life for Killing Woman
A man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for stabbing a Whittier woman to death in front of her 5-year-old granddaughter.
David Anthony Martinez, 25, of Whittier had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. But jurors found that he was sane when he broke into the house of 52-year-old Romelia Salas on Comstock Avenue and stabbed her more than 20 times Oct. 26, 1991.
After a one-week trial in Norwalk Superior Court, the jury found Martinez guilty of first-degree murder and burglary. Superior Court Judge Philip H. Hickok sentenced Martinez last week.
The child witnessed the attack, then locked herself in a bedroom as Martinez remained in the house through the night, according to a statement from the district attorney’s office. The child ran to tell neighbors in the morning.
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