Man Gets 49 Years To Life For Strangling Teen Girl, Raping Another

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com)  — Authorities said a man convicted of strangling a teen girl and raping another has been sentenced to 49 years to life in state prison.

Damond Williams, 37, was convicted of first-degree murder, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, forcible rape, sodomy by use of force and forcible oral copulation in February.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kelvin D. Filer also ordered the defendant to pay restitution to the murder victim's family.

Deputy DA Jennifer Cops said on Sept. 17, 2012, the teenage girl's body Terrey Wright was found dumped and set on fire in the 9300 block of Grand Avenue in Los Angeles. It was determined that the high school senior was raped and strangled before being set on fire.

DNA found on the victim's body linked Williams to her death, Cops said. Also, a witness testified in court that they had seen a black Ford Bronco near the area, where the victim's body was discovered. Williams owned a similar vehicle.

Officials said on June 23, 2007, Williams sexually assaulted an 18-year-old. The prosecutor said Williams stomped, raped, and sodomized the victim during the incident.

The victim yelled for help and was able to flee, the prosecutor said. Williams ran from the scene, but was apprehended by police. Blood and DNA evidence linked him to the crime.

In a Compton court Wednesday, Wright's family angrily confronted Williams.

"You took her like a thief in the night," said one family member, "You just snatched her from her whole family. You deceitful, you evil, you're a murderer."

CBS2's Cristy Fajardo said the family's feelings had been bottled up for two years.

"I hope every time you close your eyes," said another family member, "you see her face. Every time you sleep and dream, you dream of her. I hope it hurts you so bad, you want to hurt yourself."

The victim's mother, Talamavit Bean, could barely speak while choking back tears.

"Life is not normal for me right now. Every day when I wake up, I have to hide her pictures," she said.

Her family asked the judged to impose the maximum sentence. They said Wright never got to go to her prom and that she planned to join the military after graduation.

Fajardo said Williams rarely looked up.

He did eventually address them.

"I just want to, um,  tell the family, I'm sorry for your loss. I'm not the one that killed your little girl. So I hope you all do believe that. The police know who did it," Williams said.