Woman Gets Life Sentence For Elderly Man's Death

EL CAJON, Calif. -- A woman who fatally stabbed an 82-year-old El Cajon man after her life sentence for attacking her mother was reduced and she was freed from prison, was sentenced Thursday to 35 years to life in prison.

Rhonda Elaine Vanpelt, 39, also known as Rhonda Elaine Hill, pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder in connection with the Oct. 27, 2007, slaying of Ralph Edward Gardner.

Vanpelt stabbed Gardner with an ice pick and bludgeoned him with a metal sea horse statue after they argued about her unauthorized use of his credit card, according to Deputy District Attorney Kurt Mechals.

The defendant was previously found guilty of stabbing her mother in Oceanside in 1995, but the conviction was overturned by an appellate court because two of three mental health experts weren't allowed to testify.

Vanpelt then pleaded guilty in anticipation of being given probation, but was instead sentenced to life in prison. Her plea was set aside in 2002 by a judge who ruled that the defendant was given incompetent advice by her lawyer.

After she pleaded guilty again, Vanpelt was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but she had already served most of that time and was released soon after.

"If they hadn't let her out, my father would still be alive," said Gardner's daughter, Kate Gardner.

Vanpelt "basically played the (justice) system in order to avoid a life sentence for her previous crime," Kate Gardner said. "The justice system wants to give people second chances, but she didn't deserve a second chance."

Kate Gardner told Judge Lantz Lewis it "wasn't normal" for a woman of Vanpelt's age to be attracted to a man in his 80s, though her father was "vibrant, full of life, loved to have fun, (and) in great shape."

Defense attorney Stewart Dadmun told the judge that his client was too nervous to speak at the hearing, but she was remorseful and apologized to the Gardner family.

The judge fined Vanpelt $10,000 and set a restitution hearing for Jan. 29 at the El Cajon courthouse.