WICHITA, Kan. — A homeless man will be sentenced in December for killing a 72-year-old Wichita woman who had sometimes provided him with food and a place to stay.
Sedgwick County court records show 57-year-old John Darwin Pepper was convicted last week of first-degree murder and criminal sodomy in the July 2019 death of Rita Golden. Prosecutors said Pepper killed Golden during the commission of a sex crime. Police said Golden let Pepper stay in her backyard and sometimes let him take naps and eat insider her home.
An autopsy determined Golden died from a heart condition but she also had injuries associated with smothering and sexual assault.
