A California man, Darnell Erby, has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the brutal first-degree murder and dismemberment of an elderly woman inside her own home.
On November 7, 2025, the Honorable Laurel White handed down the sentence to Erby, following a jury conviction on June 17, 2025. Erby was found guilty of first-degree murder with the special circumstance that the murder was committed during a burglary. He was also convicted of mutilation and five counts of burglary, with an allegation that he was armed with a deadly weapon found true.
The prosecution, led by Deputy District Attorney James Wax of the Homicide Unit, secured findings at the sentencing hearing that Erby had prior strike convictions for residential burglary and that his prior convictions were numerous or of increasing seriousness—factors that contributed to the maximum sentence.
Details of the Crime
The victim, Pamela May, was a 77-year-old woman who lived alone in her North Highlands home. Erby had reportedly acquainted himself with the victim prior to the crime.
In the early morning of July 15, 2022, Erby unlawfully entered May’s home by crawling through a gap in her back fence. Once inside, he used May’s own clothing to bind her face and hands before ultimately killing her in the residence. After the murder, he stole property from the home and even attempted to steal the victim’s home by transferring the property deed into his name.
The horrific nature of the crime deepened in the following days as Erby returned to the house multiple times to dismember the victim’s body and place the remains into garbage bags.
Police were alerted to the murder before Erby could fully dispose of the remains. Authorities located the victim’s body, preventing the final desecration and leading to Erby’s arrest and subsequent conviction.
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