Man gets more than 66 years for killing woman, dog
An Inglewood man was sentenced Tuesday to more than 66 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing a Pomona woman he briefly had dated, killing her dog, then setting fire to her apartment four years ago.
Jurors found Chaumon Tyner, 54, guilty Sept. 19 of first-degree murder, animal cruelty and arson of an inhabited dwelling, according to Deputy District Attorney Phil Stirling, who prosecuted the case with colleague Michelle Weiske.
Tyner had a prior strike from 2003 for robbery, which resulted in his sentence being doubled to 66 years, four months to life.
Ronny Sue Wall, 58, and her Yorkshire terrier, Bentley, were found in the bathroom of her apartment at Serenity Villas on March 18, 2019, after the apartment's sprinkler system put out the fire in her apartment.
Tyner used a pair of scissors to stab Wall multiple times. She also was beaten, according to the coroner's report.
In a statement read in court on her behalf, Wall's mother, Patricia Hayes, said she was in shock when police informed her about her daughter's death.
“I felt that this was such a horrible loss, and I couldn't believe it,” she wrote. “My life changed after my daughter's death. I think about her all the time, I dream about her and miss our conversations. … As far as the defendant who took Ronny's life, I am angry at what you did and I hope that you rot in prison.”
Wall met Tyner through an internet dating site, Plenty of Fish, and they dated for 28 days, Stirling said.
Authorities believe the two had argued.
After killing Wall sometime March 16 or March 17, Tyner remained in the apartment and texted other women.
On the morning of March 18, 2019, Pomona police said he set a fire in the kitchen, the living room and the bathroom and also turned on all the gas burners. He then drove away in Wall's car, which he abandoned not far from Los Angeles Trade Technical College, where he then was taking welding classes.
Police arrested Tyner on March 27, 2019, and he has remained in jail since.