Sacto 9-1-1: 2 Sacramento men get life for beating to death woman, 90

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Sacto 9-1-1

The Sacramento Bee's Crime blog is a comprehensive report of crime news, trends and information for your community and beyond.

November 6, 2009

2 Sacramento men get life for beating to death woman, 90

Bee Staff

A Sacramento Superior Court judge on Friday sentenced two men to life in prison without the chance of parole after they were earlier convicted of beating to death a 90-year-old woman.

Judge Maryanne G. Gilliard gave the sentences to Daniel Alan Russell, 19, and Calvin Eugene Pearson, 20, who were convicted by separate juries on Sept. 22 of the first-degree murder of Marie Oliver.

The pair broke into the churchwoman's three-bedroom home in North Sacramento on April 15, 2006.

The two of them beat and kicked her and broke her nose, cheekbones, eye socket and two of her ribs, before rifling through her home for money, jewelry and other valuables, court testimony established.

They spent the cash on beer and hamburgers and clothing, and Russell intended to use some of his loot to buy his girlfriend a tattoo, he told investigators.

Russell's Sacramento Superior Court jury deliberated for a little more than two hours before finding him guilty. It took Calvin Eugene Pearson's panel a little closer to three hours before returning an identical verdict against him.

The two also were convicted of burglary and robbery.

Videotaped interviews of the two defendants helped establish their guilt. Forensic evidence also placed their DNA inside the woman's ransacked house, while her blood was found on assorted articles of their clothing and footwear.

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Q: What happened to the man and woman who forced a little boy they were taking care of to box with other kids, eventually killing the boy?

A: On Oct. 20, 2006, Renecha Marina Gulley, then 24, and Earl Joseph Christopher, then 26, were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison over the beating death of their 3-year-old godson, The Bee reported.

A jury convicted the pair of the murder of Christopher David Thomas, who died July 19, 2004 of severe head injuries sustained in what the prosecutor described as a week of physical and emotional abuse.

In opening remarks to the jury, Deputy District Attorney Robin Shakely said the boy was forced to box with his 5-year-old brother as "spectator sport" for Christopher and Gulley. The boxing matches and other acts of violence in the Rancho Cordova apartment were for the amusement of the godparents who were taking care of the boy for the parents, trial evidence showed.

The boy, who died of bleeding in the brain, also had several bruises on his chest, hip, knees, shins, hands and legs. He had a bruise on his buttocks in the shape of a hand, the evidence showed.

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