SANTA MONICA : Homeless Man Held in Fatal Beating of Woman Living Under Freeway Ramp
Santa Monica police have arrested a homeless man in the fatal beating of a 30-year-old woman who had been living beneath a freeway ramp in a tent.
Michael Anthony Brown, 33, was taken into custody by police Sunday, 12 hours after the body of Johawnia Yvette Randle was found under the ramp connecting 4th Street to the eastbound lanes of the Santa Monica Freeway, police said.
She appeared to have been beaten to death, Santa Monica Police Sgt. Gary Gallinot said.
When reporting the death at 3:50 a.m. Sunday, Brown told police that he found Randle dead inside her tent. Randle, who had lived under the ramp since October, 1994, was apparently Brown’s girlfriend, Gallinot said.
Police said physical and circumstantial evidence found at the scene link Brown with the crime. He was booked on suspicion of murder about 4 p.m. Sunday, police said.
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