Satanic killer gets 16 years to life
A Valencia woman was sentenced Friday to 16 years to life in prison for murdering an 18-year-old man in a Huntington Beach hotel after claiming to be the devil.
Samantha Elizabeth Rothwell, 21, was convicted in April of stabbing Walter Rivas in the neck after he claimed to have seen God.
Standing on a balcony at Hotel Huntington Beach on Aug. 15, 2006, Rothwell responded, “I’m the devil and don’t talk about God or I’ll stab you.”
She then took a small pocket knife from her purse and plunged it into the man’s neck and back.
Before fleeing, prosecutors said, the woman told witnesses that the killing was “no big deal” and that they “need to get over it” and “go to hell.”
She then drove to a McDonald’s where she ate burgers and chicken nuggets before returning home to Valencia.
-- David Haldane
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