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victim,A sheriff's detective testifying Wednesday in the murder trial of Darrell Lee Grahamquoted the defendant as admitting he had slept with the victim on at least 12 differentoccasions.Graham, 41, of Costa Mesa, who spent 10 years in state prison for beating his two-year-old daughter to death in i961, is standing trial in West District Superior Court forthe murder of Celeta P. Cot-rcmano, 31. also of C o s t a Mesa.Graham is accused of fatally strangling the woman and dumping her body in the Chino Hills area last Nov. 24.Del Ralph Knadler said lie was told by Graham that the defendant met the victim at a bar and she wras with another man named Ken. The witnesssaid Graham told him thatthe victim passed out in his car at a bar and he took her to his home.Knadler said Graham toldhim he finally awakened thewoman and gave her a “couple” prescription pills that have the same effect as bennies and some scotch.The detective said Graham told him the victim got into his prescription pills and he panicked because he feared she had overdosed. Graham then told the detective that he put a pair of pants, belonging to his common-law wife, on the victim, dressed her in a coat and told her to get out. Knadler said the defendant told him that he watched Mrs. Cotromano wralk down the block.The victim’s grandmother,Veda Hancock, testified thatit was not uncommon for her granddaughter to stay out allnight or even two or three days. She said her giand-d a lighter had a problem withdrinking and had called thioc times to be bailed out of jail following her arrest for public intoxication.The victim’s grandmother testified tliat the victim was released from jail at 4 p.m.on Nov. 22.Mrs. Hancock said hershe had gotten some prescrip, tion pills out of his medicinecabinet.Dean said Graham told him he asked the victim to leave and that he went to the home of a man named Ted and spent Thanksgiving day,Thanksgiving night and thenext day there. Dean said Graham told him that he was at Ted’s four hours before “that broad was dead.”Youth convictedMrs. nlt;uftuvfw m | |granddaughter always called Of manslaughterpays for funeralwhen she was going to be out all night but she did not call the night before her body was found in the Carbon Canyon area by three teen-agers onhorseback.Mrs. Hancock testified sheoverheard her granddaughter tell a man named Mike thatshe could put half of Costa Mesa in jail if she told what she knows about dope push-e r s . Mrs. Hancock said “Mike” had come to her home to see about getting paid for his car, which hadbeen hit by the victim whenshe was driving her grandmother's car.Mrs. Hancock also tetified that the victim came to her home with a man named Bill and her granddaughter told her that she wouldn’t have to worry' about her anymore because Bill was going to take ca^e of her.State parole agent CharlesDean quoted Graham as saying he had met Mrs. Cotromano at a bar. they visited several other bans, and laterPLACERVILLE(UPI) — At his own request, Dennis R. McGuire, 18, will pay $1,400 in hospital and funeral expanses incurred bythe family of a 19-year-oldyouth he accidentally shot and killed.McGuire, of El Dorado, pleaded guilty to involuntarymanslaughter in the death ofLester M. Toombs Jr. and w'as sentenced to a suspended six - month • jail term andplaced on three years probation.Superior Court records showed Tuesday that Judge Robert E. Roberts officially made the payment an order of the court after McGuire requested it and the Toombs family agreed.Authorities said Toombs died several hours after he was shot in the head with a .38-caliber revolver the two youths were passing between each other in Toombs’ mobilt home Jan. 20.
Newspaper Details
Ontario Daily Report
Ontario, California, US
Thu, Apr 26, 1973
Page 16
Full Page
Clipped by
Timberland R.
WA, USA 08 Apr 2022
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