A 30-year-old Moreno Valley man who fatally beat and stabbed his girlfriend in front of their two small children was sentenced Wednesday to 16 years to life in state prison.
A Riverside jury in July convicted Krystoffer Devion Hicks of second-degree murder and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony for the 2018 slaying of 24-year-old Latah Wilson.
During a sentencing hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Molloy imposed the term of imprisonment required by state law.
According to a trial brief filed by Deputy District Attorney David Kao, the defendant and Wilson were in a relationship for four years, beginning when they lived together in Nevada, and much of that time was marked by volatility.
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Wilson had a daughter from a prior relationship, and the defendant and victim had a son together in 2017.
According to court papers, while Wilson once caused a minor injury to one of Hicks' fingers, she suffered the lion's share of abuse.
"Between 2015 and 2017, the victim was seen on different occasions with ... a large hematoma on her forehead, black eyes, a cut lip and bruises to her arms,'' the prosecution stated.
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In 2017, Hicks, Wilson and the children moved into an apartment at 23227 Hemlock Ave., where squabbling and domestic abuse were frequent, Kao said.
The prosecutor said it came to a head on the night of Feb. 9, 2018.
During a heated exchange that began in their residence and continued into the parking lot of the Segovia Apartments, Wilson followed the defendant to his car and "threw a concrete block through the rear windshield,'' according to the brief.
Sheriff's deputies arrived soon afterward and restored peace, citing Wilson for vandalism and persuading Hicks to go somewhere to cool off.
Wilson went with a friend to purchase cigarettes at a nearby convenience store, leaving her two children with a neighbor, and when she returned to the apartment complex at about 1 a.m. on Feb. 10, Hicks pulled into the parking lot behind her vehicle, prosecutors said.
After speaking outdoors, Hicks and Wilson returned to their apartment, initially without trouble. The neighbor returned to her apartment, leaving the children on a living room sofa.
After entering their kitchen, an argument erupted between the defendant and victim, quickly escalating to physical violence.
Wilson's 5-year-old daughter observed what happened between her mother and the defendant.
"Daddy was beating up my mommy,'' the child told a Child Protective Services agent hours later. "He punched her, and then there was blood everywhere. I wanted to talk to him and tell him to stop, but I was scared. I didn't want to step in all the blood. Then he kicked her. That was bad. Mommy ran out the door and said, 'I'm dying.'''
According to sheriff's investigators, Hicks used a chef's long knife to stab the victim in the neck, back, chest and right hand.
Neighbors called 911, and deputies converged on the location within a few minutes.
Wilson was taken to nearby Riverside University Medical Center, where she died about a half-hour later.
Witnesses gave deputies a description of the defendant and the vehicle he was driving. Deputies spotted the car minutes later on Pheasant Knoll Way and followed Hicks to his mother's residence, where he was taken into custody without incident.
He had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.
