California man sentenced for stabbing several strangers, 2 fatally

EUREKA, Calif. (TCN) -- A 26-year-old man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for a series of stabbings in 2017 and 2020, causing the deaths of two people.

The Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office announced Nov. 1 that a judge sentenced Wesley Lee Starritt to four life sentences for the murders of Roger Clark and Charles LeVaugh, as well as the attempted murders of Bryon Tatum and Ciuleandra Smith. Prosecutors described the defendant’s victims as "strangers." Starritt will be eligible for a parole hearing after serving 25 years.

According to the North Coast Journal, on Dec. 4, 2017, Starritt fatally stabbed 56-year-old LeVaugh, a homeless man, while he was sleeping on the street. Starritt allegedly broke into 84-year-old Clark’s home in May 2020 and stabbed him more than 90 times, killing him.

Starritt allegedly approached 43-year-old Tatum on April 20, 2020, and began stabbing him and then stopped the attack when his knife broke. The following month, police allege the defendant asked Smith for a cigarette and also stabbed her until the knife broke.

According to the North Coast Journal, Starritt admitted to the attacks and claimed he was "Lucifer." While in jail, he allegedly attacked guards and threw human feces and other bodily fluids at them and was charged in connection with those actions. He was eventually deemed competent to stand trial and pleaded guilty to the two murders and two attempted murders.

The judge presiding over the case said, "There are no words. These killings are inexplicable, cowardly, monstrous, and all I could think was even these adjectives don’t describe it well enough."

During sentencing, LeVaugh’s sister reportedly "detailed the effects that the loss of her brother has had on her family, including her mother, who unfortunately passed away before she could see Mr. Starritt sentenced."

Clark’s son and niece also attended the sentencing and "addressed the profound loss to their family at the hands of Mr. Starritt," prosecutors said. Clark reportedly served in the armed forces and worked as a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office.

Clark’s son reportedly said his father "gave generously to many charities, both locally and nationally. For example, he bought bicycles for local underprivileged children at Christmas every year. He was a wonderful, generous man who did not deserve to die this way."

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