A 63-year-old man linked by DNA evidence to a man's stabbing death at an El Monte motel more than four decades ago was sentenced Monday to seven years to life in state prison.
The sentence for Anthony Davis was imposed under sentencing guidelines that were in place at the time of the Jan. 7, 1978, slaying of Rudolfo Chavez, according to Deputy District Attorney Sarika Kim.
The 42-year-old victim had been stabbed 45 times and was found dead by a motel employee in a room at the Spic and Span motel the next day, the prosecutor said.
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Investigators linked Davis to semen found on a bedspread that also contained the victim's blood, along with a fingerprint on the inside of the motel room door, although the defendant denied ever being at the motel, Kim said.
The prosecutor said that the victim was found naked, and that authorities believe some sort of sexual activity had occurred just before he was killed.
The motive for the attack was not clear, Kim said.
Davis was arrested in February 2021 by Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators and has remained behind bars since then, jail records show.
