FONTANA — A homeless woman has pleaded not guilty to the shooting death of her sister-in-law, then driving around Southern California for hours with the body slumped in the victim’s car.
Sandra Lee Kotz entered the first-degree murder plea Tuesday in the killing of 58-year-old Ellen Ann Bayless. The 48-year-old woman is jailed without bail.
Investigators say Kotz killed Bayless sometime Saturday and drove the victim’s 2005 Dodge Neon for more than 10 hours before Rialto police found the armed woman early Sunday.
Police say Bayless had been trying to help the homeless woman get on her feet and they got into an argument.
It’s still unclear where Bayless, who is divorced from Kotz’s brother, was killed.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.