LOS ANGELES : Man Gets Life Plus 102 Years for Kidnaping, Rape
A man picked up at a Downtown experimental homeless camp while he was being sought for a murder in New Jersey was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for raping and kidnaping a local cable talk show host.
Bill Matthews, 50, was given life in prison plus 102 years for the January, 1994, rape of the hostess. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Morris B. Jones sentenced Matthews to the maximum term.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Karen Habeeb said Matthews and his girlfriend, 38-year-old Eri Burns, kidnaped the cable show hostess after she loaned them her car that day. They picked her up from an auto show where prosecutors say Matthews raped her at gunpoint in the back seat while Burns drove the car around for five hours.
While living in Genesis I, a domed village for the homeless in Downtown Los Angeles, Burns and Matthews became known as the “first couple” of the camp.
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