Former California middle school teacher convicted in 2005 murder

A former Inglewood middle school teacher was convicted by a jury this week in the slaying of a 21-year-old woman in 2005 and the kidnapping and sexual assault of another the following year, authorities said Friday, July 12.

Charles Wright, 59, of Hawthorne faces the possibility of 50 years to life in state prison at sentencing, which is scheduled for Sept. 10, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said.

Wright was convicted Wednesday in Inglewood Superior Court of strangling to death Pertina Epps in Gardena in April 2005, officials said, and in the September 2006 kidnapping and sexual assault of an 18-year-old woman in Los Angeles. The trial – which included the crimes against both women –  lasted about a month, according to court records.

Epps’ body was found by a resident in a carport at the rear of an apartment complex in the 2700 block of 141st Place about 1 p.m., April 26, 2005, sheriff’s officials said.

The 18-year-old woman was believed to have been kidnapped in Los Angeles, Lt. Hugo Reynaga said at an August 2022 news conference.

Sheriff’s homicide detectives investigated, but exhausted all leads and the Gardena case went cold, officials said.

Investigators reviewed the case in 2021 and found evidence left at the crime scene, including fingerprint and DNA evidence, officials said.

They resubmitted that evidence for examination using current technology, which led them to Wright, Deputy Alejandra Parra said at the time of Wright’s arrest in January 2022.

Wright posted $1 million bail the day of his arrest and was released. He resigned from his position at Woodworth-Monroe K-8 Academy after Inglewood Unified School District officials learned of his arrest about a week later, Jalel Braden, a spokeswoman for the Inglewood Unified School District said in 2022. Wright had worked for the district since 1999.

Wright denied the allegations following his January arrest and told a reporter “I did not do this,” before declining to discuss the case further. He publicly stated that detectives found his fingerprints on the victim’s purse, that he used to sell clothing and apparel out of his trunk and that Epps must have purchased the item on which his fingerprints were found.

Wright was arrested again in June 2022 after his DNA was found to be a match to DNA found in the 2006 kidnapping and sexual assault case, Reynaga said at the August 2022 press conference.

Investigators did not believe Wright knew the victims, who were both described as “known prostitutes,” Reynaga said. Evidence collected in both cases led investigators to believe prostitutes were being targeted.

“I am pleased that this day has finally come for the victims of this horrendous crime,” L.A. County District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement. “It’s particularly egregious that these crimes were committed by someone who was in a position of trust and authority.”