Man Who Beat Ex-Wife to Death With Brick Gets 25 Years

A San Gabriel man who fatally beat his ex-wife with a brick in front of her Chula Vista home was sentenced Thursday to 25 years to life.

Rand Huffman, 65, pleaded guilty earlier this year to first-degree murder for the violent beating of his ex-wife, Martha Huffman, 64.

Before handing down his sentence in the court's South Bay division, San Diego Superior Court Judge Garry Haehnle said the crime was a "brutal, brutal murder" and one of the worst he's ever seen.

In February 2014, Rand attacked Martha with a brick as she took out her trash at her home on Twin Oaks Circle. When officers arrived, they found Rand with his knee on the victim's throat, trying to cut off her air supply. He was wearing gloves and was armed with a knife and a Taser.

Martha later died at a hospital from the serious head injuries inflicted in the beating.

Martha and Rand's son, Corle, was in the courtroom Thursday.

"I visited my mother every day but one for 46 days while she was in the hospital; sometimes twice a day while she was in the hospital," Corle wrote in an email to NBC7 and other media. "But she never woke up."

Police said the Huffmans had been divorced for decades and hadn't even spoken to each other in nearly 30 years. At the time of the beating, Rand had recently rekindled a relationship with his son who lived with Martha in Chula Vista.

"The loss of my mother is impossible to put in words," Corle wrote. "My father robbed a lot of people when he took her life."

Corle also said he was proud of his father for finally taking responsibility for his actions and accepting his punishment.

"Moving forward, I hope he is somehow able to make his peace with his terrible actions," he said.

Corle thanked the Chula Vista Police Department and the San Diego District Attorney's office for their work on the case.

"I miss my mother and think about her everyday. I wish I would have gotten one last chance to speak with her," he wrote.

Contact Us