Man Guilty Of Murder In San Francisco SoMa Homeless Woman Beating
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - A man was convicted of second-degree murder Monday for the savage beating of a homeless woman outside a nightclub in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood in 2008, prosecutors said.
Anthony Marks, 46, was found guilty by a San Francisco Superior Court jury of killing Robin Kent, 44, whose battered body was found on March 12, 2008, outside the front door of the Boss Nightclub at 750 Harrison St.
Police and prosecutors said the murder was unrelated to the nightclub, but rather stemmed from a dispute between Marks and Kent, who were both homeless and had a turbulent ongoing relationship.
Marks, who had been convicted of assaulting Kent earlier that year, was arrested days after her death and confessed to the murder.
Prosecutor Scot Clark had sought a first-degree murder conviction, saying that the attack was premeditated and occurred while Kent was asleep on the ground outside the club.
Marks' attorney, Deputy Public Defender Mark Iverson, had argued that it was a crime of passion and did not meet the legal standards of first-degree murder.
The jury was given the case on Friday following closing arguments by the prosecution and defense, and returned with the guilty verdict on a second-degree murder charge late Monday afternoon, district attorney's spokesman Seth Steward said.
The trial, which started late last month, was delayed briefly last Wednesday when a juror came back from the lunch break apparently under the influence of drugs and was dismissed by San Francisco Superior Court Judge Susan Breall.
Marks will return to court on Aug. 26 to set a date for his sentencing.
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