Victim, 39, planned to have Honduran removed from her house, prosecutor says
By Nick Madigan | nick.madigan@baltsun.com
4:22 PM EDT, October 8, 2009
A 41-year-old Rosedale man was found guilty Thursday of killing his girlfriend by running over her with her own truck.
Jose Manuel Claros, a Honduran who authorities said might face deportation proceedings, was accused of killing Gloria Elsy Torres-Restrepo, 39, on Jan. 5 after he found out that she no longer wanted him to live in her house and intended to take back the Dodge Ram pickup that she had lent him.
Baltimore County Circuit Judge Ruth A. Jakubowski entered a verdict of first-degree murder against Claros after a bench trial. He will be sentenced on Dec. 15.
The judge heard evidence that Claros deliberately drove the truck onto a sidewalk on which Torres-Restrepo was walking and ran over her. Prosecutor Rachel Karceski said the vehicle, traveling at almost 50 miles per hour, struck the woman outside her home in the 1200 block of Neighbors Ave. and then careened out of control, crashing into a rowhouse and causing extensive damage to its foundation and porch.
Karceski said the victim owned both the house in which Claros was living and the truck he used to kill her. Claros had failed to make payments on the truck, as agreed, the prosecutor said. Torres-Restrepo was going to have Claros removed from the house and reclaim the vehicle, and Claros killed her to prevent her from taking those actions, Karceski said.
The prosecution intends to seek a sentence of life without parole for Claros.
Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun
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