POMONA, Calif.—An Inglewood man who fatally stabbed a woman he had briefly dated and killed her dog before setting fire to her Pomona apartment was sentenced Tuesday to more than 66 years to life in state prison.
Jurors found Chaumon Tyner, now 54, guilty last Sept. 19 of one count each of first-degree murder, animal cruelty and arson of an inhabited dwelling, according to Deputy District Attorney Phil Stirling, who prosecuted the case with colleague Michelle Weiske.
Ronny Wall and her Yorkshire terrier, Bentley, were found inside the apartment on March 18, 2019, after the building’s sprinkler system extinguished the fire.
The 58-year-old woman met Tyner through an internet dating site, and the two had dated for 28 days, Stirling said. She suffered 11 significant stab wounds, with jurors finding true an allegation that Tyner used a pair of scissors in the crime.
Authorities believe the two had argued, with telephone records indicating that he remained in the apartment after the killing, according to Stirling.
Tyner was arrested nine days later by Pomona police and has remained in jail since then.
In a statement read in court on her behalf, the victim’s mother, Patricia Hayes, said she was in “complete shock” when police informed her about her daughter’s death.
“I felt that this was such a horrible loss, and I couldn’t believe it,” she wrote. “My life changed after my daughter’s death. I think about her all the time, I dream about her and miss our conversations. ... As far as the defendant who took Ronny’s life, I am angry at what you did and I hope that you rot in prison.”
Tyner had a prior strike from 2003 for robbery, which resulted in his sentence being doubled to 66 years and four months to life.
