Cold-Case Serial Killer Gets Three Life Terms

LOS ANGELES (CN) - A 74-year-old man was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences Thursday for murdering three women in the 1980s.

Samuel Little was handed the maximum sentence without parole after a jury this month convicted him on three counts of first-degree murder.

Little was convicted of murdering Carol Alford, 41, on July 13, 1987; Audrey Nelson, 35, on Aug. 14, 1989; and Guadalupe Apodaca, 46, on Sept. 3, 1989.

The women were found in dirty alleys, stripped below the waist.

With a rap sheet that includes burglary, driving under the influence, robbery and assaults, Little has spent two year in state prison for the assault and false imprisonment of two San Diego women.

Little strangled his victims to death, prosecutors said. They believe he may have been involved in the murders of at least 40 women around the country.

Authorities are following leads in California, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana, Texas, Georgia, Mississippi and Ohio.

Little frequently moved around the country, making it difficult for authorities to locate him. Los Angeles investigators arrested him at a shelter in Kentucky.

At his Sept. 2 hearing, Little, a former boxer, was at ease and in good spirits.

When Superior Court Judge George Lomeli asked him about his sentencing date, Little replied: "It's your discretion."

"Well, I need an answer," Lomeli said.

"Sure - you're welcome," Little said.

The victims' family spoke in court before Lomeli sentenced Little.

"During the trial, I was there for the coroner's presentation about my sister and those images will be etched in my mind forever," Audrey Nelson's sister Sherri said. "I loved my sister dearly, and she did not deserve to have her life taken like this."

Authorities tied Little to the murders through DNA matches, the District Attorney's Office said.

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