WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 17, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — A Pennsylvania man was sentenced today to life without the possibility of parole for torturing, stabbing and dismembering a Los Angeles man in a downtown hotel room, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Edward Garcia Jr., 41, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Larry Fidler for the Nov. 28, 2010, murder of Herbert Tracy White.
Deputy District Attorney John McKinney with the Major Crimes Division prosecuted the case.
Garcia was found guilty in June of first-degree murder. Jurors also found true the special circumstances of murder during a robbery and murder involving torture.
McKinney told jurors Garcia and his wife killed White as part of a ritualistic killing to murder and dismember a human being. Some of White’s remains were discovered in a backpack in a room at the Continental Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Other body parts were found underneath a blood-stained mattress in the room where the couple stayed.
Garcia’s wife, Melissa Hope Garcia, 30, is awaiting a separate trial in case BA378772. She returns to Department 106 on Aug. 21 for a pretrial hearing.
The case was investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department.
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About the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey leads the largest local prosecutorial office in the nation. Her staff of nearly 1,000 attorneys, 300 investigators and 800 support staff members is dedicated to seeking justice for victims of crime and enhancing public safety. Last year, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office prosecuted more than 71,000 felony defendants and nearly 112,000 misdemeanor defendants.
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