Man Given 16-Year Prison Term in Slaying
A man with a history of mental illness was sentenced Wednesday to 16 years in prison for the murder of a Chatsworth man.
Thomas Connelly, 21, was sentenced by San Fernando Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey, who--after a trial in April--found Connelly guilty of the Jan. 9 slaying of Melchor Miranda, 27. Miranda was slain in his apartment in the 20900 block of Lassen Street after the two had spent the day at Universal Studios, Los Angeles police said.
A friend found Miranda’s body the next day in the bathtub of the apartment, police said. He had been beaten with a blunt object and strangled, authorities said.
Connelly was arrested three days later while driving Miranda’s car in Hollywood, police said.
Connelly, who had been living in California about three months at the time of the killing, had a history of mental illness, which was first discovered when he was 5, court documents said.
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