Local : Sweethearts’ Killer Gets 53 Years

Damon Redmond, 22, one of four men who kidnaped and murdered two college students to cover up an auto theft in 1985, was sentenced today to 53 years to life in state prison. Redmond, who lived in South-Central Los Angeles, was convicted Dec. 1 of two counts of murder, kidnaping, arson and grand theft auto charges.

Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty against Redmond, in part because he was not the triggerman who killed UCLA freshman Michelle Ann Boyd, 19, and Cal State Northridge sophomore Brian Harris, 20. The college sweethearts were found shot to death in a lot near Mulholland Drive after they disappeared on Oct. 1, 1985, while on a date near the UCLA campus.