Vivian Collins’ body was found in an abandoned house in the 1600 block of East Century Boulevard in Watts on March 18, 1987.
Louis Craine was convicted of first-degree murder in her case in 1989.
His defense attorneys portrayed Craine, 32, an unemployed construction worker, as an illiterate man with a fourth-grade education and an IQ of 69, unable to kill anyone.
Craine was sentenced to death. Within months of his conviction, he died in a prison hospital of an undisclosed ailment.