Carson Admits He Killed 24-Year-Old Woman

A man who bludgeoned a woman to death with a hammer will die in prison.

Robert Steven Carson, 42, pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing Brittany Hart two years ago. Carson was immediately sentenced to 91 years to life in prison by Superior Court Judge Allan Preckel.

Hart's family was in court for the hearing. 

"This angel was taken from the earth well before her time and in the  worst way possible," Hart's sister Brandea Reynolds told the judge.

Reynold said outside court afterward that she was glad she would never have to face the "that monster" again, also saying that  "the only time I want to hear his name again is in the obituaries."

"The defendant will never get out of prison," county District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said after the plea was entered. "He can no longer prey on innocent victims in our community."

In his defense, Carson told the court Wednesday that he was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the killing but said he realized that that did not excuse what he had done.

Carson killed the 24-year-old Santee woman in the garage of his Spring Valley home on May 24, 2007, according to prosecutors. Hart was reported missing soon afterward, and her body was found in a recycling bin in the Cleveland National Forest in June 2007.

The district attorney's office was seeking the death penalty in the case but dismissed the special circumstance allegation of murder during a sexual assault in exchange for Carson's guilty plea.

Carson would have to serve 91 years before becoming eligible for his first parole hearing.
 

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