Inset: Pedro Simental (Pennington County Jail). Background: The motel where Simental allegedly killed a woman with a can of beans (KOTA).
A 44-year-old man in South Dakota may spend the rest of his days behind bars for allegedly killing a 40-year-old woman last year, bludgeoning her to death with a can of beans because she ripped the football jersey he was wearing.
Pedro Simental is currently facing one count of first-degree manslaughter by means of a dangerous weapon in the slaying of Edleigha Little, records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Under state law, first-degree manslaughter is punishable by a maximum sentence of life in a state correctional facility and a fine of up to $50,000.
According to a report from Rapid City, South Dakota, ABC affiliate KOTA, officers with the Rapid City Police Department at about 3 a.m. on Nov. 9, 2023, responded to the emergency room of Monument Hospital in the 300 block of Fairmont Boulevard after hospital personnel called to report that an adult female had been admitted with suspicious injuries.
Emergency medical personnel had recently picked up the woman — later identified as Little — from the Stardust Motel in the 500 block East North Street in Rapid City late on the night of Nov. 8, after an unknown male placed a 911 call requesting medical assistance.
Upon arriving at the scene, police reportedly observed that Little was alive but unconscious and had sustained multiple bruises to her head, neck, and face. Little succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead a few hours later.
A subsequent autopsy performed by the medical examiner on Nov. 13, determined that Little’s death was a homicide caused by “significant blunt force trauma” to the left side of her head, the Rapid City Journal reported.
Police said that Simental was at the motel when first responders arrived. In his initial interview with authorities, police said Simental “did not implicate himself in any way,” per the Journal.
However, during a follow-up interview on Nov. 13, Simental reportedly admitted that on the night of Nov. 8, he and little had gotten into an argument that escalated into a physical altercation. At some point during the interview, Simental reportedly told investigators that he “may have struck the victim in the left side of her head with a can.” He explained to police that the reason he struck Little was because she had grabbed his Denver Broncos jersey and he heard the clothing tear, the Journal reported.
KOTA reported that the can allegedly used to bludgeon Little was a can of beans.
Simental appeared in court on Monday where his attorney argued that Little’s hematoma could have been spontaneous due to her allegedly being a “severe alcoholic” for multiple years.
He is scheduled to appear in court again on Aug. 26.
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