2 ex-Temple University cops guilty of beating woman to death in "diabolical torture chamber"

PHILADELPHIA -- Two former Temple University police officers have been convicted of beating a woman to death in what a prosecutor described as a "diabolical torture chamber." The victim, 24-year-old Joyce Quaweay, had allegedly suffered repeated beatings and abuse at the hands of the two men, her boyfriend Aaron Wright and housemate Marquis Robinson.

Prosecutors say Quaweay was beaten with a police baton as she was handcuffed naked to a weight bench in a Philadelphia home in July 2016. She and Wright shared the home with Robinson, his girlfriend and several children. 

Wright resigned from Temple police in 2012. Robinson was fired after the 2016 arrest.   

Assistant District Attorney Chesley Lightsey says Wright and Robinson regularly beat the women and girls who lived with them for "not following the rules." 

Police say when they responded to the home, they saw Wright sitting on the steps leading to the second floor. He stood up and said, "I'm the one you want," before he was taken into custody, reports CBS Philly.

He later admitted to beating Quaweay until she collapsed, the station reports.

The victim's cousin told the station she had been trying to leave the abusive relationship.

Philly.com reports the men were convicted of charges including third-degree murder Wednesday in a nonjury trial. Their attorneys had argued that Quaweay died of heart failure.

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