Kameron Hamilton, whose brutal murder of a prostitute in a Redlands motel in 2012 both horrified and perplexed even the most hardened of homicide investigators, last week was sentenced to 15 years to life for the heinous act.
Hamilton, once of Rialto and now 27-years-old, was convicted October 30 of the May 2012 stabbing death of Priscilla Santana at the Good Nite Inn in Redlands.
Priscilla Santana, 29 at the time of her death, of Hemet, was stabbed 59 times, including in the back and skull. Hamilton was adjudged to be guilty of second degree murder and use of a knife in the commission of that offense.
On May 30, 2012, Redlands police officers Sean Flynn and Breanna Herrera were dispatched to the motel at 1675 Industrial Park Avenue in response to a disturbance call after the manager of the motel was told by a maid that someone was getting beat up in room 240.
When Flynn and Herrera arrived at the motel, they were told by the manager that he had entered the room next to Room 240 and heard four to five thuds coming from the other side of the wall.
When the police officers knocked on the door of Room 240, there was no response. After a second round of knocking, a pass key was used to open the door. An interior chain kept the door from opening completely.
After defeating the interior chain, the officers encountered Hamilton, who attempted to flee. Hamilton, then 24, was tackled and subdued and thereupon handcuffed. At that point, a bloody knife, which fell from a bag Hamilton was carrying when he was tackled, was seen by the officers. There would be testimony at trial that Hamilton had purchased the knife, described as a large butcher knife, earlier that day. Also in the bag Hamilton carried was a wallet that identified the victim.
Santana was found in the room lying face down in a pool of blood and suffering from multiple stab wounds.
Redlands homicide detective Andy Capps stated that there were too many stab wounds on Santana’s body to count. Santana was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner, Santana was stabbed somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 times and had more than 15 wounds to the top of her head and the rest on her neck and back. She had defensive wounds on her left hand and had a stab wound that penetrated her heart and hit an artery.
According to testimony, Hamilton arranged the meeting with Santana and then put his two toddlers to bed for a nap before driving to the motel, where he agreed upon a price for Santana’s services.
According to deputy district attorney Melissa Rodriguez, who prosecuted Hamilton, “At some point during the date, there was a dispute and the defendant demanded his money back. During the dispute, the knife was produced and was eventually used on the victim.”
That narrative was problematic, as it did not fit, precisely, with Hamilton’s pre-arranged purchase of the knife.
Investigators were baffled by the case, not with regard to finding the perpetrator but in assessing a motive for his action.
Deputy public defender Eric Loftman elicited from his client testimony that it was Santana who first produced the knife, which she used to cut him on the arm before he took it away from her. Previously, when Hamilton was represented by attorney Nolan King, he suggested that it was her pimp who had engaged in the mayhem. There have been reports, never fully verified, that two individuals, Gregory Wayne Atkins and Andres Mancia-Meja, may have been running a group of prostitutes who regularly hooked up with their customers at the Good Nite Inn. During the trial, Rodriguez introduced evidence that Santana was working as a prostitute out of the motel.
Judge William Jefferson Powell on January 12 sentenced Hamilton to state prison for a total indeterminate sentence of 15 years to life with one year credit for time served.