John Ewell
John Wesley Ewell (born March 25, 1957) is an American burglar and serial killer who murdered four people in multiple neighborhoods of Los Angeles from September to October 2010. Before the murders, he was an avid criminal and a notable advocate protesting against California's "3-strikes law", which allowed anyone convicted of three separate crimes to be faced with a possible life sentence.[1] Although proclaiming his innocence in the killings, he eventually pleaded guilty and was given four consecutive life sentences in 2019.[2]
John Wesley Ewell | |
|---|---|
 Ewell's 2010 mugshot | |
| Born | March 25, 1957 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder with special circumstances (4 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment without parole |
| Details | |
| Victims | 4 |
Span of crimes | September–October 2010 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | California |
Date apprehended | October 23, 2010 |
| Imprisoned at | Valley State Prison |
Early criminal activity
Ewell was born on March 25, 1957, in Los Angeles.[3] Not much is known about his childhood, but throughout his life, he had a lengthy criminal record. In 1985, he was arrested for forcing a woman to withdraw money from an ATM at gunpoint, and was also separately arrested after forcing a man out of a parked truck, binding him, and stealing his wallet.[1]
In 1989 he was convicted of robbery and burglary. In 1995, he was arrested was charged with check forgery, and, under California's 3-strike law, he was made available for a possible 25-year to life sentence. However, under the agreement of a plea deal, he was sentenced to seven years in prison.[4]
Later criminal activity
After his release, he found a job as a hairdresser and worked partially as a handyman.[1] He also became an advocate against the 3-strike law, notably showing up on the The Montel Williams Show, and often said he was scared of going to prison forever.[1] In 2010, Ewell was arrested in Huntington Park after committing a burglary. He pleaded guilty to the crime. He remained free awaiting sentencing when he was re-arrested after he was caught shoplifting. For that crime, he was released on $20,000 bail.[5]
Murders
Ewell committed his first murder on September 24, 2010, when he broke into the home of 80-year-old Hanna Marcos in Hawthrone. He robbed the house, beat and choked Marcos before fleeing. Marcos died from a heart attack as a result of her injuries.[6] Under a month later, on October 13, Ewell broke into the home of 53-year-old Denise Roberts, who lived not far from him. He strangled Roberts to death and robbed the place, before once again leaving.[6]
Only nine days later, Ewell entered the home of Leamon Caroll Turnage and his wife Robyn, both 69 and 57, respectively. Ewell bound, beat, and strangled both to death before once again robbing the house.[7] Their bodies were discovered by police officers doing a welfare check days later, after they had failed to contact family members. While investigating the latter deaths, police discovered a surveillance video of a black man looting an ATM with Robyn's credit card.[5][8]
On October 23, a day after the Turnage's bodies were found, Ewell was arrested on suspicion of all four deaths. After his arrest, his vehicle was searched and police uncovered a newspaper article covering the arrest of Lonnie David Franklin Jr., a man who had been arrested in July 2010 in connection with the murders of ten people in South Los Angeles since 1984.[9]
Court proceedings
Ewell was to remain in jail until his preliminary hearing, which was continually postponed due to unknown circumstances.[5] As evidence emerged, his lawyers stated that Ewell could have been in jail during some of the killings, however that argument was dismissed.[10] Eventually, in January 2013, he was charged with four counts of murder and four counts of robbery. He denied committing the crimes and pleaded not guilty.[5]
Due to an immediate grand jury indictment, the case was due to head to trial shortly after. Ewell faced a possible death sentence if the case were to go to trial and he was found guilty.[2] In May 2019, Ewell, who up to that point denied being responsible for the murders, accepted a plea deal that allowed him to plead guilty to all four murders in exchange for the death penalty to be taken away. Thus, on July 18, he was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.[2]
References
- Rebecca Cathcart (December 1, 2010). "3-Strikes Challenger Is Charged With 4 Murders". New York Times.
- Erika Martin (July 19, 2019). "L.A. Man Gets 4 Life Sentences for 2010 Series of Violent Home-Invasion Robbery Killings". KTLA.
- "THE BIRTH OF JOHN EWELL". California Birth Index. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- Jack Leonard & Richard Winton (December 10, 2010). "First three-strikes case (1995)". Los Angeles Times.
- Larry Altman (January 22, 2013). "Ex-con John Wesley Ewell indicted in Hawthorne robbery-killings". Daily Breeze.
- T. Grant Benson (July 21, 2019). "John Ewell Gets Life Without Parole In L.A. Murder Spree". Breaking911.
- "The Homicide Report; Leamon Carrol Turnage, 69". Los Angeles Times. October 25, 2010. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- Carlin Miller (November 4, 2010). "John Wesley Ewell Charged with Four Home Invasion Murders in Suburban L.A." CBS News.
- Richard Winton (November 6, 2010). "Suspect in multiple slayings had newspaper article about 'Grim Sleeper' in his car". Los Angeles Times.
- Dennis Romero (December 1, 2010). "JOHN WESLEY EWELL, SUSPECTED IN SOUTH BAY MURDER SPREE, COULD HAVE BEEN BEHIND BARS AT THE TIME BUT HAD LENIENT PROSECUTORS, JUDGE". LA Weekly.