Maryland

Man Sentenced to Life for 1991 Execution-Style Triple Murder

A man has been sentenced nearly three decades after the execution-style killings of two men and a woman at a D.C. park.

The Washington Post reports Benito Valdez, now 47, has been sentenced to 94 years to life in prison on Monday after a jury convicted him in the 1991 deaths of 29-year-old Curtis Pixley, 26-year-old Keith Simmons and 23-year-old Samantha Gillard. 

The killings had remained unsolved until four witnesses emerged in 2016, identifying Valdez as the killer. 

Valdez, of Arlington, was arrested in February 2016.

Prosecutors say he was a drug dealer who controlled Langdon Park in Northeast D.C. A witness testified that Valdez killed the victims when Pixley didn't hand back a $20 rock of crack cocaine during a drug buy. Authorities say he lined up the victims and shot them multiple times.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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