A 24-year-old man was sentenced Monday to 30 years to life in prison for the strangulation murder of his pregnant girlfriend, whose body was discovered buried in his Compton backyard.
A jury deliberated for about a day before convicting Devion Keith Anderson Feb. 20 of two counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of 18- year-old Maria Gonzalez and her fetus.
Sheriff’s deputies responded on Dec. 23, 2013, to a 911 call from a family member at Anderson’s home, and deputies discovered a mound of freshly dug dirt in the backyard. The woman’s body was found after the area was excavated.
Anderson went to the Compton sheriff’s station the next day and admitted to the killing and backyard burial.
He was initially charged with Gonzalez’s murder. The second murder count was filed after it was determined that Gonzalez was 14 weeks pregnant when she died.
— City News Service