A New Jersey man has been convicted and sentenced to life in prison in the deaths of two women in north Philadelphia more than a quarter-century ago.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that 54-year-old Rudolph Churchill of Paulsboro, New Jersey was convicted of first-degree murder and weapons counts Monday but acquitted of rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.
Churchill was charged in the March 1989 rape and murder of 19-year-old Ruby Ellis and the April 1989 slaying of 33-year-old Cheryl Hanible. Authorities said DNA tests linked Churchill to the slayings of the women.
The defense called the DNA link tenuous and pointed to other evidence lost since the 1989 slayings.
Before he was sentenced, Churchill said he was raised as "a gentlemen" and denied that he killed the women.
