A La Puente woman was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years to life in state prison for murder in the stabbing of an elderly man whose body was found in his burning West Covina home, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Brenda Armstrong, 42, pleaded no contest in July to a first-degree murder charge in the killing of Ralph Simonian, 86, and to one count of arson of an inhabited structure.
Armstrong was a waitress at a restaurant that was frequented by Simonian.
On Nov. 15, 2012, Simonian was found at his home in West Covina. His house had been set ablaze, and he had been stabbed several times.