A 70-year-old person was given a 25-year life sentence for the killing, which her 92-year-old mom claims was motivated by greed, on Thursday.
An , Orange County Superior Court , in soon June , convicted , Cynthia Roberta Strange , of first-degree death for , the , Sept. 4, 2018 , slaying , of her family,  , Ruth Strange, during an early night attack at the family’s residence on , Vista Del Sol Drive. However, a special circumstances ‘ claim that the murder was committed for financial gain was refuted by judges, saving Strange from a potential life without a possible probation sentence.
Earlier this month,  , Orange County Superior Court , Judge , Lewis W. Clapp , found that jury in the case engaged in wrongdoing by discussing Strange’s determination not to speak, something jurors are directly advised not to acquire. The jury members claimed that the conversation had no bearing on their final choice, but the judge declined to reject the verdict.
Three judges acknowledged also having doubts about whether they had reached the right decision despite being interrogated in open court.
Ruth, Strange’s family, had been paying Cynthia money each month after Cynthia told the mother that she had divorced her husband, according to court filings. The family, according to the prosecution, decided to financially cut Cynthia off when she learned that she was still married and had made a sizable profit from the sale of her Oceanside apartment.
According to the prosecution, Cynthia began to plan for her mother’s death by searching online for” How do you break a neck”? and” Signs of being smothered,”” Outcomes of air in needles to the human body,” and” How long before the deepest sleep occurs?”
Around , 5 a. m.  , on , Sept. 4, 2018, Odd drove from her residence in Irvine to her mother’s house in Huntington Beach, stopping on the way at a Walgreens where prosecutors allege she bought latex gloves. She was seen leaving the family’s residence around  , 8 a. m., according to court filings.
Strange’s sister,  , Amy Hamilton, arrived at the mother’s home around  , 9: 40 a. m., saw a garage door open and when her mother did n’t answer called police. Officials found a bath covered in blood, bloody footprints to a blood-spattered chair near a sliding-glass doorway and outdoor in a swimming pool the figure of , Ruth Strange. Officials determined Ruth died by drowning, but she had cuts and lacerations on her mind.
” This is someone who sat, planned, thought and carefully orchestrated this crime”, Senior Deputy District Attorney , Nick Thomo , told the judge during the sentencing hearing.
During the prosecution, Strange’s lawyer,  , Sara Ross, denied that her client killed her mother. The defense counsel otherwise raised suspicion of Hamilton, Strange’s girl.
According to the defense attorney, the mother had changed her faith weeks before her passing, leaving Hamilton, who was unemployed and in financial trouble, the sole owner of roughly$ 1 million in companies. The defense counsel claimed that Hamilton was in complete control of their family’s budget in the run-up to the shooting and that she was also receiving at least as much as her girl had been on a monthly basis.
Rather than a jail sentence, the defense attorney asked the judge to throw Odd on parole. Unusual has a host of physical ailments, is confined to a chair and struggles from psychological disorders including schizophrenia, according to court documents.
” This is someone who will do well on parole, who will live, who will be rehabilitated”, Ross said.
Judge Clapp , indicated he was friendly to the security debate, at one stage asking the attorney” I think the question comes down to, is she really a threat to the neighborhood”?
Thomo said,” Anyone in danger when you release someone from the community who has a history of uncertainty and crime.”
The judge eventually decided that according to her first-degree murder conviction, he could not launch Odd on probation. For spending more than six times in a nearby jail while awaiting trial, Strange was given credit.
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