SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A man who beat and stabbed his girlfriend to death in their upstairs bedroom while her two children were downstairs in the couple's Mountain View apartment was sentenced Monday to 16 years to life in state prison.
Damon Edwards, 42, was convicted in November of second-degree murder in the Aug. 25, 2017, death of 38-year-old Mickette Smith. He was also convicted of two misdemeanor counts of child abuse.
Deputy District Attorney Mary Loeb said the victim was stabbed five times, had three broken bones and suffered blunt force trauma to the head.
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The morning of the murder, Loeb said the defendant came running down the stairs of the Mayberry Street apartment and told the children not to go upstairs before he ran out the door.
The children found their mother dead upstairs about 9:15 a.m. and called 911, according to Loeb. Edwards was arrested at 7:30 that night.
