A man in South Dakota claimed he killed a woman with a can of beans because he heard his Denver Broncos jersey ripped during an argument.
Pedro Simental, 45, has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison after hitting and killing 40-year-old Edleigha Little with a can of beans on November 8, 2023.
Simental pleaded guilty last month to first-degree manslaughter, saying he committed the violent act after hearing his sweater ripped while the two were arguing at a motel.
On the night of their altercation, Rapid City police responded around 3 a.m. to a woman with “suspicious injuries” after she was transported to the emergency room from the Stardust Motel in Rapid City.
Police found Little unconscious with significant bruising to her head, neck and face, police said KOTATV.
She was pronounced dead from her injuries hours later, and her autopsy revealed that she had died from “significant blunt force trauma” to the left side of her head.
Simental had been at the motel when first responders arrived. Although he “didn’t involve himself” in his initial interview, he told investigators in a follow-up interview that the two had gotten into an argument that evening.
He further admitted that the argument turned into a physical fight and that he “may have struck the victim on the left side of her head with a glare,” prosecutors said. Law & Crime.
Pedro Simental, 45, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter after striking and killing 40-year-old Edleigha Little with a can of beans on November 8, 2023
The pair had reportedly gotten into an argument at the Stardust Motel in Rapid City, South Dakota, where Simental reportedly heard his Denver Broncos jersey being ripped as she grabbed him.
Little’s niece spoke at a hearing Monday, saying her aunt was a “caring, thoughtful person” and accused Simental of regularly abusing Little.
His chilling reason for hitting her, he told investigators, was because she had grabbed his Denver Broncos jersey and he heard the clothing tearing.
During his trial, Simental’s lawyer had highlighted Little’s “numerous pre-existing health conditions” and argued that they made her more vulnerable to the “single, reckless blow” that caused her death, the court heard. The Pennington County Prosecutor’s Office.
His attorney had argued that Little’s hematoma could have been spontaneous as a result of her alleged “severe” alcoholism for several years, Law & Crime reported.
State’s Attorney Senior Deputy Roxanne Hammond expressed concern about Simental’s “lack of responsibility” and specifically emphasized that pre-sentence investigations showed there was “little to no responsibility for his role in her death.”
Little’s niece spoke at a hearing Monday, saying her aunt was a “caring, thoughtful person.”
She further accused Simental of regularly abusing Little and asked the judge to impose a lengthy sentence so that he “couldn’t do this to another woman and her family.”
Simental was sentenced to 15 years in prison and is currently incarcerated in the Pennington County Jail in South Dakota.