Anaheim Man Gets 6 Years In His Girlfriend's 1992 Beating Death
SANTA ANA (AP) — A former Anaheim man has been sentenced to six years in prison for the 1992 beating death of his live-in girlfriend after he was linked to the crime through DNA.
Prosecutors say 49-year-old Lawrence Jerome Smith pleaded guilty Monday to one felony count of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Rosalyn Hamilton.
The district attorney's office says Smith beat Hamilton until she was unconscious in September 1992. Prosecutors say Smith then drove her to a hospital but fled when hospital staff told him her injuries were consistent with being beaten.
Hamilton died at the hospital.
Defense attorney Miles Jessup says Smith claims he didn't beat Hamilton but didn't want to face a potential life sentence. Jessup says Smith's clothes had blood stains because he took her to the hospital.
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