A man who killed 92-year-old Maria Consuelo Rivera in her National City home pleaded guilty June 8 to first-degree murder and to committing a residential burglary.
Peter Thao, 27, of Mira Mesa, has agreed to accept a sentence of 31 years to life in state prison, said Deputy District Attorney C.J. Mody.
Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Ana Espana set sentencing for Aug. 16.
Thao was to have had a preliminary hearing June 8, but agreed to plead guilty without having any witnesses testify. He will get 25 years to life for the murder plus six years consecutive for the burglary.
A special circumstance charge of murder during a burglary was dismissed. That would have led to a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Mody said Thao followed Rivera home Oct. 22, 2016 to her apartment at almost 6 p.m. in the 1100 block of D Avenue after she left a bus that came from an East County casino. He knocked her down, punched her, and struck her head four to five times.
The cause of death was blunt force trauma, said Mody. Rivera’s family was informed of the guilty plea.
“They’re planning on speaking at the sentencing,” said Mody.
Thao remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility without bail.
