Young killer who bashed Chinese student Ji Xinran to death gets life sentence in California
University of Southern California student Ji was beaten to death in 2014 by teenage gang armed with a baseball bat and a wrench
A 21-year-old man was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without parole for beating to death a University of Southern California graduate student from China who was walking to his off-campus flat.
Andrew Garcia, who was convicted of first-degree murder and other charges earlier this summer, was sentenced by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge George Lomeli.
Ji managed to get to his flat, where a roommate found him dead hours later.
Ji’s family wept during the sentencing. His father, Ji Songbo, sobbed as he told the court in Putonghua that his son was killed viciously.
“People like our age are now preparing their daughter’s and their son’s wedding, and their life is full of joy. But every day instead for us we are paying tribute to our son, crying,” the father said through an interpreter.
Garcia was the second of four defendants to go to trial. A young woman, Alejandra Guerrero, was convicted of the murder last year and is awaiting sentencing. Two more defendants await trial.