Black Father Convicted of Strangling Mother of His Infant to Death and Setting Her on Fire

SF Gate
September 1, 2015

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Vanessa Herrera was strangled to death by the Black father of her infant, before he then stuffed her body into a car and set it on fire.

A man was convicted of strangling the mother of his child in Sacramento, driving her body 80 miles to San Francisco and setting it ablaze in a car in the Lower Haight neighborhood.

Almon Johnson, 33, of Sacramento was found guilty Tuesday by a San Francisco Superior Court jury of first-degree murder and arson in the 2011 slaying of preschool teacher Vanessa Herrera, 23, of Sacramento, police said.

Herrera had previously been the victim of domestic violence by Johnson, including an August 2010 incident in which he was arrested for physically abusing her and their child, authorities said.

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Almon Johnson was found guilty on all counts.

“This is an incredibly tragic death that reminds us that domestic violence is a cycle,” said District Attorney George Gascón. “I cannot stress enough the importance of early intervention. It is absolutely essential to protect these vulnerable victims.”

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