Sante Kimes Convicted of 6-year-old Kazdin Murder

July 7, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Joe Scott, Director of Communications
Sandi Gibbons, Public Information Officer
Jane Robison, News Secretary
(213) 974-3525

LOS ANGELES – Sante Kimes was convicted by a jury today of the first-degree murder of 63-year-old Granada Hills businessman David Kazdin, whose body was found dumped in a trash bin near Los Angeles International Airport in 1998.

District Attorney Steve Cooley praised Deputy District Attorney Eleanor Hunter, the Major Crimes Division prosecutor who obtained the conviction against Kimes, who also has been convicted of murdering a New York City widow whose body never has been found.

"Deputy District Attorney Hunter prosecuted this case with expertise, professionalism and a great deal of patience," Cooley said. "The Los Angeles Police Department detectives who worked on this case also are to be commended for their exemplary work in bringing Mr. Kazdin’s killers to justice.

"We had to wait until New York prosecuted and obtained second-degree murder convictions Sante Kimes and her son, Kenneth, before we could launch our prosecution here," Cooley added. "The People of the State of California have been well-served today."

Kimes, 71, and her 29-year-old son were charged in 1999 with the Kazdin murder, and then indicted in 2002. Kenneth Kimes pleaded guilty to first-degree murder with special circumstances was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He testified against his mother at the trial.

Sante Kimes is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 17. She too will receive a life-without-parole sentence. Jurors deliberated about five days before convicting Kimes of first-degree murder with the special circumstances of murder for financial gain, the murder of a witness and multiple murder.

sg

Please read our Privacy Policy.