A New York man was sentenced to life in prison plus 10 years for the beating and drowning death of a 19-year-old prostitute, the Cobb County district attorney said Monday.
Ricardo Laron Harris, 35, of Rochester, N.Y., was convicted in June of murdering Yvonne Denise James, 19, on New Year's Day 2013 inside a Howard Johnson Inn room on Delk Road in Marietta, DA Vic Reynolds said. A jury took less than three hours to convict Harris of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery and concealing a death.
In the early-morning hours of Jan. 1, 2013, Harris was inside James’s hotel room for about 90 minutes before he called 911 to report someone had been killed, prosecutors said. Harris was arrested the same day.
An autopsy determined James died from blunt force trauma and had been drowned. During Friday’s sentencing, James’ mother and a cousin told the court about her love of life, the DA’s office said.
“No family should ever have to endure what this one did — learning the details of their 19-year-old loved one’s brutal death at the hands of a serial predator with a history of violence toward women,” prosecutor Jesse Evans said in an emailed statement. “But, they were thankful that the system worked here and that in all likelihood Ricardo Harris will never be able to do this to another human being.”
Harris has been in custody at the Cobb jail since the day of the murder.
About the Author
