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Man Guilty Of 1993 Rape, Murder Of Doctor

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A man was found guilty Thursday of first-degree murder in the rape and killing of a woman in 1993.

Christopher Goree was just 17 years old at the time of the November 1993 slaying of Dr. Josephine Tan, 41, whose nude and battered body was discovered near the Harbor (110) Freeway near Torrance.

Goree's DNA was entered into a law enforcement database in 2002. It matched the genetic profile taken nearly a decade earlier from sperm in the victim's body, according to prosecutors.

Tan, who did not drive, was moving her belongings from Carson to Torrance by walking over a pedestrian footbridge above the 110 Freeway. She was hit hard enough to be knocked unconscious and apparently woke up either as her clothes were being taken off or as she was being raped, Deputy District Attorney Frances Young told jurors.

"This woman fought back as hard as she could," Young said.

Goree, now 35, is scheduled to return to court on May 13 to set a sentencing date.

Goree faces a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He will not face the death penalty because he was a juvenile at the time of the crime.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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