The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to review the case against a man convicted of fatally stabbing his estranged wife and attacking her sister in the San Gabriel home the women shared.
The state’s highest court’s denial of Sherman Dorsey’s petition follows a March 10 ruling by a three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal, which rejected the defense’s claim that there were errors in his trial.
A jury in Alhambra convicted Dorsey in August 2013 of second-degree murder for the Aug. 3, 2011, killing of his estranged wife, Gina Reano, and attempted voluntary manslaughter for attacking her sister, who came to her sibling’s aid after hearing her screaming.
“Based on the brutal nature of Gina’s murder by stabbing, there was overwhelming evidence of malice,” the appellate court justices’ 32-page ruling says.
Dorsey’s estranged wife was stabbed 13 times with at least two kitchen knives. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dorsey’s sister-in-law managed to escape and call 911 from a neighbor’s house.
After the attack, Dorsey was found outside the home with self-inflicted stab wounds that were described as superficial.
The crime scene was described by one detective as the bloodiest he had seen in a 30-year career, according to the appellate court panel’s ruling.
Dorsey was sentenced in October 2013 to 21 1/2 years to life in state prison.
— City News Service