Gang Member Pleads Guilty in Slaying

A 23-year-old Oxnard gang member pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder in the strangulation of a woman in a motel room more than a year ago.

Salvador Sumaran faces 16 years to life when he is sentenced Feb. 20, prosecutors said. Sumaran changed his plea to guilty on the eve of trial, which was scheduled to begin Wednesday in Ventura County Superior Court.

Authorities said Sumaran beat 20-year-old Janet Williams in the head and chest, strangled her and left her body outside a Saviers Road motel room on Sept. 10, 1999. Williams, who left behind a son, was planning to go to a party with friends near her Oxnard home. Police found her body the next day.

Sumaran, who had stayed at the motel that night, was arrested at the Ventura County jail on Sept. 14. He has been in custody in lieu of $500,000 bail since then.

During a preliminary hearing, a cab driver identified Sumaran as the man he picked up with an unidentified woman on the night of the slaying. Sumaran asked the driver to recommend a cheap motel, the detective testified.

Sumaran has a lengthy criminal record for theft, vandalism and drug use.