A parolee convicted of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a prostitute in her City Heights apartment was sentenced Friday to 75 years to life in prison, plus an additional six years.
A jury found Frank Dwayne Shaw guilty in the death of Maureen Skeffington, 48. Shaw has prior convictions for a 1997 series of armed robberies at adult book stores.
Deputy District Attorney Brian Erickson said in his opening statement that Skeffington was killed in her bed Aug. 26, 2012, in her Cherokee Avenue apartment and her body was subsequently dumped in a water-filled bathtub. He said she was stabbed twice in the neck and her nose was broken.
Shaw, 37, attacked the victim after she refused to accept drugs as payment for a sex act, police had said.
The victim’s body was found by officers two days later, after neighbors and friends reported they hadn’t seen her, according to the prosecutor. He said a neighbor told investigators she heard thumping noises a couple of nights earlier and thought two people were having sex.
The prosecutor said Shaw’s DNA was found on the bed, on a kitchen cabinet and on a bathtub handle.
Defense attorney Kara Oien said Skeffington’s killing was too brutal to have been committed by someone who barely knew her.
Shaw had no motive to kill the woman, she said, adding that Shaw’s DNA was in Skeffington’s apartment because he had used her services in the past. Other men’s DNA was found in the apartment, the defense attorney said.
Reading from several pages of a statement written out on yellow legal paper, Shaw maintained his innocence and claimed jurors at his trial lied when they said they could be impartial.
He also accused the court of racial bias. The defendant, who is black, said only three African Americans were represented on the original jury pool of 85, and all were women.
“We (were) fighting a losing battle at jury selection,” Shaw said.
He also contended that other potential suspects were not investigated.
Erickson said jurors rendered a “fair and just” verdict.
Judge Leo Valentine, who also verbally supported the jury, gave Shaw 25 years to life in prison, which was tripled because of the prior convictions.
The additional six years were also because of his priors, according to the prosecutor.
– City News Service
