A man convicted of sexually assaulting and killing a woman in San Francisco’s Richmond District more than two decades ago was sentenced today to life in prison without parole, according to prosecutors.
Otis Hughes, 61, was found guilty by a jury on Dec. 23, 2013 of killing 38-year-old Karen Wong inside her home on the 400 block of 47th Avenue, according to Alex Bastian, a spokesman for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
She was found on Feb. 27, 1991 by her boyfriend and brother, who checked on her after not hearing from her for several days, according to prosecutors.
Hughes was arrested on unrelated burglary charges in September of 1991 and served a 17-year prison sentence. It was only upon his release in 2008 that a DNA swab was taken that allowed investigators to link him to evidence found at the scene of Wong’s murder, according to prosecutors.
Defense attorneys argued unsuccessfully in the trial that evidence at the scene pointed to Wong’s boyfriend as a suspect.
Sara Gaiser, Bay City News
