Court Upholds Man's Murder Conviction For Stabbing Girlfriend

LOS ANGELES, CA — A state appeals court panel Tuesday upheld the ruling against a man convicted of killing his girlfriend. Three justices from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected the defense's claim of insufficient evidence to support the first-degree murder conviction.

Prosecutors said that in August of 2015, Timothy Andrade fatally stabbed his girlfriend Brandi Carrasco once in the neck and once in the shoulder at their Burbank home. According to the ruling, after initially denying that he knew the victim, Andrade told police "I touched her with the love of God."

Police said Andrade wrote a note to the woman's family, saying "Because it was God's will out of faith, hope and love, I sent her home. I touched her deeply with the hand of God ... I am right with the Lord now, and hopefully I'll be with her soon."

In Tuesday's ruling, justices noted evidence of planning, a "preconceived design to kill" and a "volatile relationship" between Andrade and Carrasco.

Andrade was sentenced in June 2918 to 26 years to life in state prison.

City News Service contributed to this report.