A Van Nuys man has been sentenced to 11 years in state prison for the killing of a 76-year-old woman with whom he was apparently in a long-term relationship.
William Tillman, now 70, pleaded no contest Thursday to voluntary manslaughter, court records show.
The case stemmed from the Sept. 5, 2024, death of Ronela Reyes, whom police said was bludgeoned in the head with a hammer.
Officers responded to a residence in the 7300 block of Balboa Boulevard, near Sherman Way, around 6:15 a.m. that day in connection with a domestic violence call involving an assault with a deadly weapon, the Los Angeles Police Department said soon afterward.
Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics arrived at the location, where the victim was discovered with blunt force trauma. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Tillman was detained at the scene, according to police.
He was subsequently arrested and has remained behind bars since then, jail records show.
The two had argued and Tillman called police after the attack, an LAPD detective told the Los Angeles Daily News last year.
Tillman was initially charged with murder, but that count was dismissed Thursday as a result of his plea to the newly added voluntary manslaughter charge, according to court records.