A man convicted in May of strangling his girlfriend, then burning her body and burying it in the desert, was sentenced Monday to life in prison.
Eric Dewayne Hill is eligible for parole after 25 years, an option Pima County Superior Court Judge Howard Hantman went with despite the pleas of several friends and relatives of the victim, Angela Gayden.
Assistant Pima County Attorney Mark Diebolt said Hill, 39, should not have a chance to get out of prison for a variety of reasons, including the fact Hill killed the mother of their young child.
“We’re all aware of the true character of this individual,” Diebolt said, noting Hill had a violent arrest record dating back to 1987.
Hill was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Gayden, 21, who was killed Jan. 4, 2008 and later found burned and buried in a shallow grave near Interstate 10 and South Wilmot Road.
During his trial jurors heard testimony from Felicia Simmons, who had three children with Hill, admit she helped move and dispose of Gayden’s body.
Simmons was granted immunity in exchange for her testimony.
Hill’s attorney, Steven West, argued during the trial that it was more likely Simmons had killed Gayden because there had been numerous confrontations between the two women before Hill’s death.
“To this day I don’t know who killed Angela,” West said Monday. “Eric had no reason to kill her.”
Despite apologizing to Gayden’s family Monday, Hill maintained his innocence.
