Life without parole for rape, murder of 84-year-old woman

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- Dramatic moments inside an Orange County courtroom Friday as the family of a murdered 84-year-old woman faced their grandmother's killer. Friday a judge sentenced Richard Sandoval to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sandoval aggressively maintained his innocence.

Richard Sandoval fidgeted as his victims granddaughters spoke before the court Friday. Sandoval, now 61, was hired in 1984 by Margaret Lenney to do a paint job at the 84-year-old woman's apartment complex in Anaheim.

Sandoval was arrested and questioned a couple of days after the murder. But the prosecutor said blood evidence found on his switchblade was not enough to prosecute him at the time.

Prosecutors say over the decades, with advances in technology, they got a DNA match linking Sandoval to Lenney. He was arrested in 2011 shortly before his release from prison on an unrelated 1985 rape case. Last June he was convicted of killing Lenney.

"In my experience, one of the most brutal murders I've ever seen," said prosecutor Michael Murray.

Sandoval maintains his innocence. At sentencing he disputed the evidence and swore at the prosecutor. As the judge read his sentence, Sandoval flipped him off.

"Your history of sexual predation and violence makes it abundantly clear that you can never be allowed to live among citizens," said Orange County Superior Court Judge Daniel McNerney.

The judge sentenced Sandoval to life in prison without the possibility of parole. His attorney plans to appeal. Lenney's family calls the sentence appropriate.