Adel Ramos, suspect in killing of Sacramento police officer Tara O'Sullivan, given death penalty verdict by jury
SACRAMENTO – Adel Ramos, the suspect who admitted to killing Sacramento police officer Tara O'Sullivan, was handed a death penalty verdict by a jury on Thursday.
O'Sullivan was shot and killed while on a domestic disturbance call in June 2019. She was just 26 years old and only six months into the job.
Ramos was arrested after an hours-long standoff following the shooting. Records showed that Ramos had a long history of run-ins with the law dating back to the 1990s.
Prosecutors had said they would seek the death penalty against Ramos, despite California's moratorium on capital punishment.
After a series of delays, including Ramos apparently hurting himself in his jail cell, jury selection started earlier in 2025 and the trial began. Jury deliberations then began Tuesday.
On Thursday, the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office confirmed that a jury had returned a death penalty verdict against Ramos. The office said Ramos' next hearing date is set for April 18, when sentencing will be set.
The last time California carried out an execution of a death row inmate was in 2006.
