Anaheim Woman’s Plea Earns Life Term in Murder of 2
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A 22-year-old Anaheim woman facing the possibility of death if convicted of killing a man and his mother pleaded guilty Wednesday and was immediately sentenced to prison for the rest of her life.
Opening statements in the trial of Tynickia Thompson began last month. But the proceedings were interrupted by the illness of an attorney before any testimony could be taken, Deputy Public Defender Marion Wheeler said.
The trial was supposed to resume today. But Thompson entered her plea and was sentenced immediately, at her request, by Superior Court Judge Eileen Moore.
Thompson admitted murdering John Tyler Hancock IV, 49, and his mother Helen, 77, on May 8, 1996. The bodies were found after firefighters were called to the flaming, 4,200-square-foot mansion in Lemon Heights.
Hancock and Thompson had been dating. Police alleged that Thompson shot Hancock and his mother during a fight and then set the house on fire in an attempt to cover her tracks.
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