OAKLAND — A person was convicted Thursday of killing his ex-fiancée together with his fists, earlier than stuffing the lady’s physique within the trunk of her automobile.
An Alameda County jury discovered Richard Debnan Charles responsible of second-degree homicide within the loss of life of Anika Crane, who disappeared for a number of months in March 2020 earlier than her physique was found.
Behind dark-rimmed glasses, the 70-year-old defendant sat silently with out handcuffs in a black-and-white checkered shirt, as Choose Clifford Blakely walked him by post-conviction proceedings.
His conviction got here a day after a jury had begun deliberating whether or not Charles had murdered Crane, a 32-year-old Oakland resident whose three-month disappearance had led family and friends — a few of whom have been current in court docket Thursday — to hunt details about her whereabouts on social media.
Along with mobile phone information and DNA proof, the prosecution’s case relied closely on surveillance footage that confirmed the estranged couple driving individually to Charles’ residence after he had confronted her at an Oakland liquor retailer on March 23, 2020, when Crane was final seen.
Their off-and-on relationship had appeared to return to an finish not lengthy earlier than that day, although Crane had stayed at Charles’ residence — an RV — the evening earlier than. Prosecutors alleged that Charles killed Crane that evening, enlisting assist from an unnamed particular person to eliminate the physique whereas spending hours cleansing his residence.
Crane was by no means seen alive after that evening, however prosecutors mentioned the surveillance footage exhibits Charles loading one thing into the trunk of her 2018 Ford Fiesta earlier than driving the automobile to an unincorporated space of the county between San Leandro and Hayward.
The automobile was found in June 2020 on a frontage street beneath Interstate 580. Crane, useless inside, was decided to have been killed from blunt-force trauma.
“The defendant chose to use his fists over and over and over on Anika Crane until she took her last breath,” Deputy District Legal professional Colleen Clark mentioned Wednesday throughout closing arguments. “And then the defendant took very calculated, and very deliberate, steps to attempt to cover up his crime and to deflect blame away from him.”
Charles’ legal professional, Miki Tal, unsuccessfully argued there was no motive provided by prosecutors and little or no blood discovered on the crime scene. However the jury returned a responsible verdict inside a day of starting deliberations.
Choose Blakely scheduled Charles’ sentencing listening to for July 22.
