GUILTY CA - Herbert White, 49, found dismembered at Los Angeles hotel, 28 Nov 2010

[Missizzy]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101209...DeW5faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDcGFjb3VwbGVzb3Vn

Pa. couple sought in Calif. man's dismemberment

"Los Angeles~A manhunt was under way Wednesday for a Pennsylvania couple accused of killing a man, cutting up his body and stashing the pieces in a backpack and under a bed in their Skid Row hotel room. Edward Garcia Jr., 36, and Melissa Hope Garcia, 25, who also goes by the name of Melissa Turner, are considered armed and dangerous..."

and

"...The couple from York, Pa., had several previous arrests for robbery in that state, and investigators believe they were trying to rob Herbert Tracy White on Thanksgiving weekend when the Good Samaritan who had befriended the couple was killed at the Continental Hotel..."

and

"..."He befriended them, helped them out, gave them money, maybe a place to stay, and they ended up killing him," [Detective] Arciniega said. At a news conference, weeping relatives said White, who had battled alcoholism but was clean for 15 years, went out of his way to help the unfortunate. He felt it was a way of paying back the help he had been given...."


more at link (plus photos)

Rest in peace, Mr. White.

 

[Filly]

How sad. Today would have been Mr. White's 50th birthday. May he rest in peace.

Cold people. Melissa Hope Garcia has the Sanpaku eyes for sure. Hopefully they'll be caught quickly. Also wanted on a similar crime out of York, PA. Thankfully nobody died.



http://laist.com/2010/12/08/during_an_emotional_press_conferenc.php

 

[Filly]

An arrest has been made in the married couple accused of murdering Herbert Tracy White.

Melissa and Edward Garcia were arrested in an abandoned building in Hollywood, California. Nowhere near York that's for sure.



http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/local/couple-wanted-in-hollywood-murder-arrested-20101210

Again may this poor man rest in peace.

 

[Missizzy]

Oh, I'm so pleased to hear that Filly. I was really worried that they'd strike again. Don't you wonder if this was truly their first victim? It will be interesting to hear where all they've travelled.

 

[JoeFromLB]

Couple accused in killing and dismembering of man at L.A. hotel could face death penalty

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lan...man-at-la-hotel-could-face-death-penalty.html

The couple made their first court appearance on Monday. They were charged with murder with special circumstance allegations that could bring the death penalty. Prosecutors will make a decision on the death provision at a later point.

 

[JoeFromLB]

This case has finally come to trial after five years. The prosecutor is portraying the crime as a ritualistic murder.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-dismemberment-torture-good-samaritan-20150527-story.html

 

[JoeFromLB]

Closing arguments were on Friday.

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0619-dismemberment-trial-20150619-story.html

Deputy Dist. Atty. John McKinney told jurors that Garcia and his wife, Melissa Hope Garcia, killed White as part of a "long-held fantasy" of dismembering a body. The prosecutor said Edward Garcia carved up White's body with a 31/2-inch blade and dissected and sliced a piece of leg muscle from the bone in what he called a "ritualistic killing."

During his closing arguments, McKinney recounted the gruesome scene at the hotel. Police found White's severed arms still bound by duct tape, and a backpack stuffed full of flesh. Under the blood-soaked bed was White's torso, riddled with scratches and small punctures.

"It was a bloodbath," McKinney said. "They took this man apart."

 

[JSinUK]

What cruel and sadistic depravity. They killed this guy - after torturing him first it seems - purely for the thrill of it and to fulfill their sick fantasies of killing and dismembering someone.

I generally disapprove of death penalties but - if they are found guilty as seems likely - in cases such as this I almost yearn to see the twisted freaks put down for what they have done.

The twisted depravity of such a crime for such a motive is utterly sickening.

And worryingly, they seem to have attempted to do this before but their intended victim escaped on that occasion. This immediately evokes worries about the possibility of them having done this to others, with the victims never being found. The fact that the guy seems to have employed some practiced skill in the dismemberment is worryingly suggestive of such a possibility.

They might be yet another of those awful thrill killing couples that appear from time to time, but whose victims mostly remain undiscovered.

 

[JSinUK]

The husband of this couple has just been found guilty. His wife's trial is still pending.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/23/pennsylvania-man-convicted-of-la-hotel-dismemberme/#!

Wouldn't be surprised if the wife tries to claim she was acting under duress out of fear of her husband whilst minimising her own role as much as possible. That seems to be the standard defence for the female half of such twisted couples.

 

[OkieGranny]

From September:

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/09/18/woman-sentenced-to-16-years-in-mans-killing-dismemberment/

Melissa Hope Garcia, 30, was sentenced Friday to 16 years and eight months after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and other charges.