Global Courant
A homeless man convicted of killing an elderly woman on New Year’s Day while trying to rape her has been sentenced to life in prison, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Rosendo Xo Pec, 28, was found guilty of murdering 76-year-old Betty Jane Willis, a former soul singer, in the 1960s January 1, 2018in a strip mall in Santa Ana.
Willis was a recording artist in the 1960s, collaborating with leading artists of the era, including Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers and pianist and songwriter Leon Russell. As a solo act, Willis recorded several songs, including “Someday You’ll Need My Love,” “Act Naturally” and “Take My Heart.”
After falling on hard times, Willis became homeless and began living on the streets in Santa Ana, prosecutors said.
Willis was killed by Pec when he tried to rape her in the parking lot of a strip mall on the 1600 block of W. 1st Street. Pec punched Willis several times and choked her as she tried to scream for help, investigators said.
That’s what the police said upon his arrest Pec’s pants were down and he was sitting on top of the unconscious woman. He probably tried to flee, but was quickly apprehended.
Willis was pronounced dead at the scene.
Despite being arrested at the time of Willis’ death and formally charged with murder days later, it took several years for the case to go to trial.
Pec was found guilty of Willis’ murder earlier this month after a jury deliberated on the case for just an hour, prosecutors said.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer described Willis’ death as a travesty, saying she had the “voice of an absolute angel” that was brutally silenced.
“No one should have to suffer the outrage and disrespect she suffered in her final moments,” Spitzer said. “I am grateful that the jury quickly and decisively found that this individual was guilty of this heinous murder and that he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.”
Pec, who was 22 when he killed Willis, was found guilty of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of attempted rape. He will serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
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