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Grah amvictim/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 cf 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.Det. Ralph Knadler said he was told by Graham that the defendant met the victim at a bar and she was with another man named Ken. The witnesssaid Graham told him thatthe victim passed out in his car at a bar and he took herto his home.Knadler said Graham toldhim he finally awakened thewoman and cave her agave“couple” prescription pills that have the same effect as bennies and some scotch.The detective said Grahamtold him the victim got into his prescription pills and he panicked because he feared she had overdosed. Grahamthen told the detective that heput a pair of pants, belonging to his eommon-law w’ife, onthe victim, dressed her in a coat and told her to get out. Knadler said the defendanttold him that he watchedMrs. Cotromano walk downthe block.The victim’s grandmother, Veda Hancock, testified thatit was not uncommon for hergranddaughter to stay out allnight or even twa or three davs. She said her granddaughter had a problem withdrinking and had called three times to be bailed out of jailw - ■ —following her arrest for public intoxication.The victim’s granimomcr testified tliat the victim wasreleased fromon Nov. 22.Mrs. Hancock said hergranddaughter always calledwhen 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 on horseback.Hancock testifiedoverheard her granddaughter toil a man named Mike thatshe could put half of Costa Mesa in jail if she told whatshe 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 had been hit by the victim whenshe was driving her grandmother's car.Hancock also tetified that the victim came to herhome with a man named Bill and her granddaughter told her that she wouldn’t have toworry about her anymore because Bill was going to take care of her.State parole agent CharlesDean quoted Graham as saying he had met Mrs. Cotromano at a bar. they visited several other bars, and latershe 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 wasat Ted’s four hours before “that broad was dead.”
Newspaper Details
Ontario Daily Report
Ontario, California, US
Thu, Apr 26, 1973
Page 16
Full Page
Clipped by
Brynn A.
AL, USA 25 Jan 2023
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