A man convicted of murdering his transgender partner on Skid Row last year could be sentenced next month to 50 years to life in state prison.
Jurors deliberated for about three hours Thursday before finding Daniel Molayem guilty of first-degree murder in the March 23, 2016, shooting death of 32-year-old Kourtney Yochum. The panel also found gun allegations to be true.
Molayem, 41, is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 1.
Molayem and Yochum, who was formerly known as Allen Walter Raymond Yochum Jr., had been in a relationship for more than 15 years, according to Deputy District Attorney Lisa Kassabian of the Family Violence Division.
Molayem was arrested shortly after the shooting at Fifth and San Pedro streets. Witnesses said the victim was walking on a sidewalk just steps from her home at the Gateway Apartments, a supportive housing complex on Skid Row, when she was shot in the head.
–City News Service