A 40-year-old man was convicted Tuesday of second-degree murder in the choking death of a transgender woman whose body was found behind a Dairy Queen in Anaheim two years ago.
Randy Lee Parkerson, who is scheduled to be sentenced June 24, faces 15 years to life in prison. Jurors deliberated for about an hour and 15 minutes before returning the verdict.
Parkerson, an unemployed methamphetamine user, routinely met men and transgender people online and got together with them in person for sex, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Steve McGreevy.
The defendant met 28-year-old Zoraida Reyes online, and picked her up in Santa Ana on June 10, 2014, the prosecutor said.
They negotiated oral sex for $10 in his car, which led to another sex act which involved choking to deprive the recipient of oxygen to heighten sexual pleasure, McGreevy said.
Afterward, he noticed Reyes wasn't moving, saw blood on her face and pushed her further down in the back seat before driving to a motel, where he dragged the body into the car's trunk, McGreevy said.
Parkerson drove around the Southland looking for a place to get rid of the body, which was in his trunk for two days, the prosecutor said. He eventually dumped the victim at 201 N. State College Blvd. in a Dairy Queen lot, where she was found on June 12, McGreevy said.
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Investigators matched DNA on the victim to Parkerson, whose DNA was collected after a DUI conviction, and by testing a beer can the defendant discarded while he was under surveillance, McGreevy said. He was arrested in October 2014.
Records on Parkerson's smartphone show he searched for information on second-degree murder, manslaughter and "how bad is it in prison," McGreevy said.
The cause of Reyes' death was asphyxiation, and a coroner told investigators that it would take two to six minutes to choke a victim to death, the prosecutor said.
Parkerson's attorney, Sara Nakada, said her client "never intended to kill" Reyes, calling it a "tragic accident."
"The furthest thing from Randy Parkerson's mind was killing Zoraida Reyes," Nakada said. "What was on his mind was oral sex."
Parkerson started smoking methamphetamine in June 2014, prompting him to seek out sexual encounters with "strangers in motel rooms, his home and even in his car," Nakada said.
"The drugs made him more sexual and sexually curious," Nakada said.
During sex with Reyes, Parkerson touched her arm a few times and eased off as he was concerned about her choking, Nakada said. However, Reyes said, "No, no, I like it. Keep going," the defense attorney said.
When Parkerson saw the blood on Reyes' face from a nose bleed, he "panicked," Nakada said.
Reyes was an active member of several Orange County transgender and immigrant rights advocacy groups. Her slaying provoked an outcry in the transgender community over the lack of attention to such crimes.
City News Service contributed to this article.
