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Thread: Roman Gabriel Aldana - California Death Row

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    Roman Gabriel Aldana - California Death Row


    Roman Gabriel Aldana


    Facts of the Crime:

    On July 30, 2010, Roman Gabriel Aldana was sentenced to death in Riverside County for the September 9, 2006 beating and slashing murder of Kayla Lorrain Wood, 16.

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    July 30, 2010

    Moreno Valley man sentenced to death for death of 16-year-old girl

    Roman Gabriel Aldana, 23, showed no reaction as Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jean Pfeiffer Leonard imposed the death penalty on him for killing Kayla Lorrain Wood in 2006.

    A death sentence was handed down today for a Moreno Valley man who beat, slashed and fatally stabbed a 16-year-old girl used by the defendant and his friend for sex.

    Roman Gabriel Aldana, 23, showed no reaction as Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jean Pfeiffer Leonard imposed the death penalty on him for killing Kayla Lorrain Wood in 2006.

    Aldana was convicted April 1 of first-degree murder, and jurors found true a special circumstance allegation that the crime involved torture. The same jury recommended that he be executed.

    “Mr. Aldana and what he did kind of epitomizes how cruel people can be to other people for no reason,” Deputy District Attorney John Henry said outside the courtroom. “He inflicted pain and torture … on a 16-year-old girl who had done absolutely nothing to him.”

    The prosecutor said he took “no pleasure” in pursuing capital punishment for the defendant, but that the verdict was “absolutely just.”

    Aldana’s mother and stepfather attended the sentencing, but did not address the court.

    Kayla’s mother, Tamara Miller, and her boyfriend, Paul Van Patten, arrived just after the hearing.

    Miller declined to comment, but Van Patten said Aldana’s sentence was “too good for him.”

    “He gets to eat, sleep and have visits for another 20 or 30 years,” Van Patten said. “Kayla’s dead.”

    Aldana’s co-defendant, Jose Alfredo Solorza, 18, was convicted by a separate jury and sentenced to 29 years to life in prison. Solorza was not eligible for the death penalty because he was a minor at the time of the crime.

    On the morning of Sept. 9, 2006, Solorza and Aldana attacked the girl in an abandoned duplex on Cactus Avenue in Moreno Valley.

    According to trial testimony, the victim met the defendants on the streets after she ran away from a group home for troubled teens. The trio went to the duplex because Solorza knew the condemned structure was empty.

    The defendants and the girl stayed there, drinking and having sex for days, according to testimony.

    Solorza told Riverside County sheriff’s investigators that Aldana became worried that he had impregnated Kayla, precipitating the fatal attack, which was witnessed by Solorza’s 19-year-old cousin, Anthony Bobadilla, who had joined the defendants the night before.

    Bobadilla testified that Solorza called him into the bathroom, where he saw the defendants and Kayla having intercourse in the shower. The witness said his cousin told him to “watch this” and slashed the girl’s throat with a razor blade.

    Bobadilla testified that he tried to leave the duplex but was threatened by Aldana, who directed him to throw a toaster at Kayla and watch as the defendants killed her.

    Over a 45-minute span, the girl was stabbed with a screwdriver and knife “literally from head to toe,” Henry said.

    She tried to hide in a closet, but was pulled out by the defendants, who resumed slashing and beating her, according to testimony.

    Solorza told investigators that Aldana was laughing during the attack.

    After stabbing the girl around 133 times, Aldana and Solorza dumped her into a bathtub full of water, apparently to ensure she was dead, according to Henry.

    Solorza tried unsuccessfully to torch the duplex to cover up the evidence.

    Bobadilla pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and kidnapping and was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

    http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-river...#ixzz0vCAHc4vi

  3. #3
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On January 29, 2014, counsel was appointed for Aldana's direct appeal before the California Supreme Court.

    http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.g...pTICAgCg%3D%3D

  4. #4
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    On the 11th of June 2018, Aldana filed his initial brief.

    http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.g...pTICAgCg%3D%3D

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    The prosecution filed its response on the 28th of January 2019.

    https://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca....pTICAgCg%3D%3D

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    Aldana's direct appeal has been fully briefed before the California Supreme Court since December 24, 2019.

    https://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca....pTICAgCg%3D%3D

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