A Los Angeles man who once won early release from prison is now guaranteed never to walk free again, after a judge sentenced him Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing his girlfriend in 2021. It was the third killing tied to him since his release on parole in 2020, a record that has reignited hard questions about California's parole laws.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Craig Veals imposed the life term after a February jury conviction, finding 55-year-old Darryl Lamar Collins guilty of first-degree, special-circumstance murder. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement to CBS News Los Angeles, “Darryl Collins took three innocent lives. Today's sentence isn't just about punishment; it's also about protection from this sociopath to ensure he will never walk free again.” Hochman also credited Deputy District Attorneys Katrina Anderson and Noelle Brown for prosecuting the case.
The victim, 53-year-old Fatima Johnson, was found dead in her South Los Angeles apartment in July 2021 after her daughters went to check on her, according to FOX 11 Los Angeles. Family members told reporters she had been bound and wrapped in a blanket, and neighbors and loved ones later gathered for a vigil outside her home. The discovery quickly raised anguished questions from relatives about how long she had been out of contact and why.
Prosecutors said Collins bound Johnson's wrists and ankles with shoelaces and duct tape, suffocated her, then stole her jewelry and Lexus so he could sell them for drugs, details described by CBS News Los Angeles. Collins had been released on parole in 2020 after becoming eligible under changes to California's youth offender parole rules. Prosecutors say he already had two murder convictions from the summer of 1995, for which he was later sentenced in 1998 to 50 years to life.
Parole law that opened the door
In 2017, California lawmakers amended the state's youth offender parole statute to expand who could seek early release, raising the age cutoff to 25. The legislative record and bill text on the state site show revisions to Penal Code section 3051 enacted that year. Supporters framed the change as a way to account for research on brain development in young adults, while critics have cited it in ongoing debates about early release and public safety.
What it means now
With the life-without-parole sentence in place, Collins will spend the rest of his life in prison. Relatives and community members who followed the case said the outcome brings some measure of closure after a years-long legal process. Prosecutors have framed the verdict and sentence as both a final resolution for the victims' families and a way to protect the public from any future harm.
