2 Moreno Valley women get life in prison for killing Long Beach woman in Pechanga casino

Youanness Assad, 93, left, with his daughter Mary Assad, holds a photo of his deceased wife, Afaf Assad, 84, in Anaheim on Sept. 25, 2019. Afaf Assad, 84, died days after she was attacked and robbed in the bathroom at the Pechanga Resort Casino near Temecula on Aug. 31, 2019. Two Moreno Valley women, Kimesha Monae Williams and Candace Tai Townsel, were arrested in connection with the case and on Feb. 8, 2023, were convicted of murder, robbery and elder abuse. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)


2 Moreno Valley women get life in prison for killing Long Beach woman in Pechanga casino


Two Moreno Valley women were sentenced to life in prison without parole on Friday, April 21, for killing an 84-year-old Long Beach woman who was found unconscious with a cracked skull on the floor of a Pechanga Resort Casino bathroom in 2019.

Kimesha Monae Williams, 39, and Candace Tai Townsel, 42, who both have long rap sheets for theft, were convicted in February of murder, robbery and elder abuse, along with a sentencing enhancement of committing a robbery during a murder, after a monthlong trial.

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On Aug. 31, 2019, at about 7:30 a.m., Williams and Townsel were in the casino near Temecula when Afaf Assad entered with her husband of 59 years, 93-year-old Youanness, on her right arm and a bright pink purse containing about $1,000 for gambling on her left. Afaf Assad went into the bathroom, followed by Williams as Townsel played lookout, at one point blocking a custodian from entering.

No one other than Assad and Williams saw what happened.

But a woman in a stall heard a thud, and Williams left, joining Townsel in making a beeline for the exit. That woman, and the custodian, found Assad on the floor, her skull fractured and her head bleeding. Assad died four days after she was injured. The large purse was missing and was never found.

Riverside County Senior Deputy District Attorney Marcus Garrett contended during the trial that someone ripped the purse from Assad’s arm, leaving a deep laceration where the strap had been, and she was either pushed or fell.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/2-moreno-valley-women-get-life-in-prison-for-killing-long-beach-woman-in-pechanga-casino/ar-AA1aaBEE