A Houston man has been condemned to life imprisonment without parole after a harrowing trial where he was convicted of the capital murder of a 28-year-old woman. David Spates, 61, was found guilty this Monday in the death of Kayla Lary, a tragic event dating back to June 24, 2020. Per the details released by the Harris County District Attorney's Office and Houston Chronicle, the victim was tied up, assaulted with a hammer, and stabbed multiple times.
Spates, who had accused Lary of being an informant after the arrest of another man earlier that same year, took her to a remote location near Sheldon Lake, where he then proceeded with his fatal assault. As reported by FOX 26 Houston, a witness recounted Lary's pleading for her life saying she "just wanted to go home to be with her baby".
The aftermath of the murder saw Spates allegedly driving Lary's car to the woods, abandoning it, and dumping her body into the San Jacinto River, the Houston Chronicle detailed. It took 10 days before her remains were discovered, in such a state that it was challenging for authorities to precisely deduce the cause of death.
This was not just a vicious and cruel murder, it was a premeditated and planned-out capital murder," District Attorney Kim Ogg stated, as captured by the FOX 26 Houston. Assistant District Attorney Kathryn Rogers said, "We are thankful to the jurors who listened to the facts of this horrible case and did the right thing."
