A 64-year-old “sexually deviant and sadistic” convicted rapist took advantage of his friend being in a diabetic shock to repeatedly rape and sexually assault her until she died, making him guilty of murder, a prosecutor told jurors Thursday.
Charles Patrick Drew’s attorney, however, told jurors the victim was to blame for her death and the defendant should be acquitted.
Drew is charged with killing 29-year-old Amber Oceja in a Motel 6 in Stanton during the night of March 17 and early March 18 in 2012, Senior Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh said.
She had two children, who were 8 and 3 years old, and she had lost custody of them due to her alcoholism, Baytieh said.
“She had been homeless for awhile trying to stay clean,” Baytieh said. “She was trying to stay sober to get her kids back.”
Drew was convicted of rape in 1995, and his victim in that case was expected to testify in this trial, Baytieh said.
Oceja and the defendant had known each other for about four years as fellow transients in the area, Baytieh said. Oceja had gotten vouchers from a local church for motel rooms on March 14 and 15 in 2012, but then checked in to the Motel 6 on their own money March 16 through March 19.
“This defendant did horrible, horrible, horrible things while she was unconscious and in a diabetic shock,” Baytieh said.
Just after 8 a.m., March 19, Drew hollered for help from a second-floor balcony.
Drew allegedly lied repeatedly to investigators in a series of interviews that amount to more than eight hours, Baytieh said.
Baytieh alleged that Drew got the victim drunk on her alcohol of choice, vodka, and denied her insulin, which she needed every day.
Oceja’s quest to win back custody would be dashed if authorities found out she had gotten drunk, Baytieh said.
While Oceja was incapacitated, Drew allegedly used a razor to cut her inside her vaginal area, Baytieh said. The defendant also was accused of anally raping the victim, Baytieh said.
The prosecutor showed jurors video of the defendant buying a sexual performance enhancing drug at a local liquor store the weekend the victim died. The defendant was also seen in surveillance video in a 99 cent store buying ammonia, which the prosecutor alleged was placed on the woman’s groin to erase evidence of the sexual assaults.
When asked why he bought the ammonia, Drew told investigators, “Just cleaning her, you know.”
Baytieh told jurors, “You’re going to learn she was alive when that happened, but she’s unconscious.”
One night during that weekend, the victim dialed 911 from her phone while Drew was outside the room, but did not say anything. The dispatcher returned the call and got the victim’s voice mail.
Drew’s attorney, Lawrence Volk, told jurors the victim was a chronic alcoholic who would sometimes pass out into such a deep sleep it was difficult to revive her. He said she often did not take her insulin.
Oceja understood alcohol turns into sugar and “it was not good for her diabetes,” Volk said. The victim also had a drug addiction problem, the attorney said.
Oceja “willingly” took methamphetamine with the defendant when they were at the Motel 6, Volk said.
“Her life was a roller coaster,” Volk said. “She had a history of sabotaging herself.”
Oceja would often say she wanted to win back custody of her children, but her actions often circumvented those wishes, Volk said.
“March 19 is the day her body finally gave up on her,” Volk said.
Oceja did not answer the phone when the 911 dispatcher called back because she feared a legal setback in her custody struggle, Volk said. She had just signed a case plan that prohibited her from doing drugs or drinking, Volk said.
Volk said other transients who saw the victim that weekend at the motel will say she was fine at one point and later Drew asked them to help him get her out of the motel when she was “lethargic.”
The defendant “wasn’t hiding her from anybody,” and the victim insisted she was fine, Volk said.
The victim also suffered from a skin condition due to her poor health, so investigators were shocked when they saw her body and thought the worst when they saw the defendant’s past criminal history.
“They arrive, there’s a dead body and… there’s an old man standing there and when they run his name he has a rape conviction — bingo,” Volk said.
Oceja’s death “wasn’t caused by Mr. Drew. It was caused by (the victim) not taking care of her diabetes,” Volk said.
— City News Service