A 29-year-old man pleaded guilty on Friday, March 8, to stabbing to death a Pasadena woman in a Westminster hotel six years ago.
A hearing is scheduled for May 10 for the judge to consider evidence from prosecutors and Aryan Vito Smith’s attorney to decide whether it is first-degree or second-degree murder.
A first-degree murder conviction would lead to a 26 years to life sentence. A second-degree murder conviction would mean 10 years less time before getting a parole hearing.
Smith was arrested in May of 2020 and being held on $1 million bail.
One night In February 2018, police were called to conduct a welfare check on Treeanna Nichols, 22, and found her dead in a room at the Quality Inn at 6601 Westminster Blvd.
Nichols had been stabbed multiple times, Westminster police Cmdr. Cameron Knauerhaze has said.
The following month, Westminster police asked for the public’s help to find Nichols’ killer and released surveillance video of a man chugging on a vaping device as he climbed up the stairs on his way to the hotel room where the victim had been found.
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