Former Lewis County residents Raul and Cathy Sarinana were sentenced to death by a California judge Friday afternoon for the 2005 murder of their 11-year-old nephew who was found dead in a closet at the couple’s Corona home, according to a report on The Press Enterprise newspaper’s Web site.
Both Raul and Cathy Sarinana were recommended for the death sentence by a jury in April after they were found guilty of torturing and killing one of their nephews.
Two juries in a Riverside County court in California asked that the former Randle-area couple be put to death, but the ultimate decision fell in the hands of county judge Paul E. Zellerbach, who had the option of giving them life in prison without parole instead.
Eleven-year-old Ricky Morales was found in the Sarinanas’ bedroom closet in Corona, Calif., the day after Christmas in 2005. The couple had tortured the boy for not eating his breakfast, then left him in the closet to die while they entertained guests at a Christmas party.
The couple is also suspected of killing Ricky’s older brother, 13-year-old Conrad, who was found encased in concrete in a trash can outside the Sarinanas’ California home. Investigators believe he was killed in August 2005 in Randle. Conrad was a student at White Pass Junior-Senior High School, and was reported missing just after the Sarinanas moved to Winlock. The Sarinanas moved to California soon after the missing child report was filed.
Lewis County Prosecutor Michael Golden has said he isn’t sure whether or not he will choose to prosecute the couple for crimes committed while in Washington. He said his office will weigh the financial feasibility of putting the Sarinanas on trial while waiting out the appeals process.
Death sentences in California are automatically appealed to the state Supreme Court.
