Man sentenced to death for torture and fatal stabbing of young mother

VISTA - A former Camp Pendleton Marine sergeant who tortured and fatally stabbed a young mother who caught him stealing video games from her Vista home was sentenced to death today.

Derlyn Threats, 29, was convicted last year of first-degree murder with special circumstances in the Sept. 1, 2005, death of 24-year-old Carolyn Neville.

Neville, who had just returned home from dropping her 6-year-old son at school, was stabbed more than 70 times, including final blows from garden shears the defendant got from her garage, said Deputy District Attorney Patrick Espinoza.

Espinoza called the killing...