| For Immediate Release Case # 05NF2705 January 29, 2008 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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BOYFRIEND FACES TRIAL FOR TORTURING
AND MURDERING LIVE-IN GIRLFRIEND
BY CUTTING OUT HER TONGUE
SANTA ANA – A La Palma man faces trial tomorrow for murdering his live-in girlfriend, Patricia Dunthorne, after torturing her by cutting off her tongue. Frank Robert Mallory, 50, is charged with murder with a sentencing enhancement for murder with torture. He faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole if convicted. Opening statements are scheduled to begin later this afternoon, Tuesday, January 29, 2008 in Department C-43, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
Between June 25, 2005 and July 15, 2005, Mallory is accused of torturing and murdering his girlfriend by cutting off her tongue and leaving her to bleed to death on the bed. He is accused of hiding her dead body in his garage under a blanket and leaving her there for weeks. The defendant is accused of telling neighbors that his girlfriend had gone on a trip to Utah. Police officers received a call on July 16, 2005 from Mallory’s brother, who had gone to the house and noticed an odor coming from the garage, reporting the dead body.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Larry Yellin of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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