A man who lived for months with the decomposing remains of his girlfriend was convicted yesterday of murdering, torturing and raping her.
It took a jury one hour to convict Devon Epps, 37, of all charges related to the killing of Veronica Jones, who was beaten with a metal table pedestal and stabbed 32 times, KXTV reported.
The 35-year-old mother of 10 was reported missing in June 2011, but six months passed before her body was found. A building manager found her unrecognizable corpse in the couple's bathtub when Epps was evicted from the Stockton, Calif. residence, CBS Sacramento reported.
Jurors saw graphic photos of Jones' rotting body, according to KTXL.
Family members testified that it was tough to get police to search for Jones. Though they filed a missing person report, it took police a month before they went to her apartment and then they never actually entered the premises, KTXL reported.
“I believe the law is supposed to protect victims and I don’t think my sister was being protected," her brother Isaac Zuniga said.
Depending on the result of today's sanity hearing, Epps, who's been diagnosed with schizophrenia, could be imprisoned for the rest of his life, the Stockton Record reported.
The charges against him included premeditated murder, use of a weapon other than a firearm, rape, torture and corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant.
Related
Before You Go
