Weather 
LOS ANGELES () — A 55-year-old man convicted for murdering his girlfriend in South Los Angeles was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Darryl Lamar Collins, of Los Angeles, killed Fatima Johnson in her apartment in July 2021, a slaying that came just under a year after he was granted parole for two murders in 1995.
Johnson’s cause of death was asphyxia due to neck pressure and possible smothering, according to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office.
The 53-year-old victim was found by her daughters and best friend – bound with shoe laces and duct tape, gagged and wrapped in a blanket.
Johnson was a mother of six and grandmother of eight who worked in a nursing home. She was pursuing her nursing license at the time of her killing.
Within hours of her murder, prosecutors proved that Collins pawned two of her necklaces and sold her Lexus for drugs.
Collins was previously convicted in 1995 of two separate murders. He served 25 years behind bars – only half of his sentence because of changes to California’s “youthful offender” parole laws.
“Darryl Collins took three innocent lives. Today’s sentence isn’t just about punishment, it’s also about protection from this sociopath to ensure he will never walk free again,” L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said. “This case shows exactly what can happen when someone with a history of extreme violence is released from prison early.
“We can only hope that three families who have experienced unimaginable loss find some measure of peace knowing he will never again be back in our communities.”
© 2026 Television,
