California Man Found Guilty Of Strangling Girl In Woods
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A California court has found a man guilty of strangling a teenage girl in the woods behind her high school.
The Sacramento Bee reports that a Sacramento jury convicted 42-year-old Quentin Ray Bealer of murder in the 2013 death of Marysa Nichols.
Nichols was 14 years old at the time. Her mother, Dianne Whitmire, says Nichols defended her siblings from bullies and loved going to church.
The attack behind Red Bluff Union High School generated so much publicity that the trial was moved to Sacramento County. Tehama County District Attorney Gregg Cohen said Bealer had a dark fascination with young girls and spent four minutes choking Marysa with her shirt.
Bealer's sentencing is scheduled for July 8. It was unclear Wednesday whether the sentenced will be handed down in Sacramento or Red Bluff.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.