Man Pleads Guilty to Murder, Rape

To avoid trial and a possible death sentence, a North Hollywood man pleaded guilty Thursday to the murder and rape of a 75-year-old woman. As the result of a plea bargain, he now faces a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

James Gerald Moreen, 22, was scheduled to go to trial next week, but now will be sentenced Sept. 25 by Superior Court Judge Sandy R. Kriegler. With the guilty plea, he admitted to murder with the special circumstance of rape.

Authorities said Moreen forcibly raped the victim, Edwina DeWalden, before stabbing her repeatedly Oct. 16, 1995. The two lived in the same North Hollywood apartment complex in the 4400 block of Vineland Avenue.

Investigators said Moreen claimed he had an ongoing sexual relationship with the victim and said he had stabbed her after she threatened to disclose their relationship to his girlfriend, who is also the mother of his child.

But police said the defendant took the victim’s wallet, which he attempted to dispose of along with the murder weapon. In addition, five weeks after the murder of DeWalden, police said, the defendant attempted to rape another woman in a vacant apartment at the same complex.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys had no comment, but the victim’s son, Christian DeWalden, spoke briefly after the court hearing.

“She didn’t deserve to die this way,” DeWalden said of his mother. “I prefer he [Moreen] go to jail for the rest of his life so he can have lots of time to think about the awful thing he did.”