Businessman Gets 25 Years to Life in Partner’s Death
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SANTA ANA — A Fullerton man was sentenced to 25 years to life Friday for strangling his business partner in 1991 and dumping her body in the desert.
An Orange County Superior Court jury deliberated for two days in December before convicting Richard W. Lockridge, 41, of first-degree murder in the July, 1991, death of Kim Martello.
Deputy Public Defender E. Robert Goss Jr. said his client stands wrongfully convicted and will pursue an appeal.
Martello, 28, of Fountain Valley, disappeared July 22, 1991, and her body was found several days later near Palm Springs.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher J. Evans contended at trial that Lockridge killed her in the warehouse at ERB Foods in Fullerton in a dispute over ownership of the supply company.
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