Homeless man to be sentenced for murder, sex crime in 72-year-old Wichitan’s death
A homeless man tried on murder and sex crime charges in the July 2019 killing of a 72-year-old Wichita woman was found guilty by a jury last week, Sedgwick County District Court records show.
John Darwin Pepper, 57, will be sentenced Dec. 10 in connection with the death of Rita Golden, whose daughter found her partially nude body face down on the kitchen floor of her east Wichita home on July 15, 2019. Officers investigating the crime found Pepper, a homeless man Golden sometimes let eat and take naps inside her house, hiding in a closet with a small dog and what appeared to be blood on his left hand, an arrest affidavit says.
An autopsy determined Golden died from a heart condition caused by high blood pressure, but she also had injuries associated with smothering, the affidavit says. There were also signs she had been sexually assaulted, including Pepper’s DNA on her body, the affidavit says.
Jurors convicted Pepper of first-degree felony murder and aggravated criminal sodomy on Oct. 29, court records show. His trial started Oct. 25.
This story was originally published November 4, 2021 at 3:12 PM.
