Oakland man, guilty of murdering ex-fiancée, has killed a woman before
OAKLAND When Richard Debnan Charles is sentenced for murdering his -year-old fianc e and stuffing her body in a trunk it will be the second time an Alameda County judge throws him in prison for a homicide In Charles was charged with murder for fatally stabbing -year-old Delcenia Maria Wright inside her Oakland apartment He later received an -year prison sentence after pleading no contest for voluntary manslaughter records show Related Articles Man fatally shot in West Oakland Beloved Oakland lecturer killed by driver after CHP terminated pursuit officers say A part of me died with him East Bay man gets life for murdering Oakland teen Police Man dies in alcohol-related solo wagon crash in Oakland Ursula Jones Dickson touts hires addresses scenario dismissals in review of days as Alameda County s new DA Wright was determined dead in her apartment on th Avenue near where Charles lived He narrated police at the time the two met through working at the same club and that he went to her home discovered her body and stole jewelry from inside But he confessed to friends that he stabbed wright because she wouldn t have sex with him according to court records Now Charles is back in custody for an eerily similar crime Last week an Alameda County jury identified him guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Anika Crane who disappeared for several months in March before her body was discovered Prosecutors declared Charles beat Crane to death with her own fists and stuffed her body into the trunk of an abandoned car which was later discovered below Interstate in the unincorporated area known as Ashland near Hayward and San Leandro Charles was apparently upset that Crane had uncovered a new boyfriend and confronted them both shortly before she disappeared When Crane s family tracked Charles down and demanded answers he advised them he was supposed to meet Crane for a dinner date that evening but that she d never shown up according to Oakland police During trial prosecutors argued Crane had stayed at Charles home an RV the night before They stated Charles killed Crane that night enlisting help from an unnamed individual to dispose of the body while spending hours cleaning his home Charles attorney Miki Tal unsuccessfully argued there was no motive offered by prosecutors and very little blood identified at the crime scene But the jury returned a guilty verdict within a day of beginning deliberations Prosecutors revealed details of the prior homicide in court filings before Charles murder trial earlier this month In Wright s killing police were initially stumped theorizing she may have been surprised by a burglar Later they spoke to neighbors of Wright who identified Charles During a police interview Charles initially stated he and Wright had drinks that night and she was alive when he left but later changed his story according to media reports at the time This was an innocent woman in her own home minding her own business a police investigator informed the Oakland Tribune in There was no reason for it Staff writers Harry Harris Jakob Rodgers and Shomik Mukherjee contributed reporting
