L.A. Man Sentenced to 11 Years for Killing Roommate Whose Body Was Found in Apartment Wall

A Los Angeles man will serve 11 years in prison for the killing of his roommate, whose body was discovered behind a wall in their home.

Randolph E. Garbutt, 47, pleaded guilty in September to one felony count of voluntary manslaughter in the 2009 death of 37-year-old Raven Campbell.

On July 2, 2015, six years after she disappeared, Campbell’s remains were excavated from behind a wall at an apartment she shared with Garbutt in Lomita.

Campbell lived in a public housing complex with Garbutt and two friends.

An autopsy determined that Campbell died from blunt force trauma, and prosecutors said Garbutt used a hammer in the assault.

According to KTLA, Campbell’s remains were found in a patched-up hole in the wall of a closet by a cadaver dog after an anonymous tip led police to the apartment in June of 2015. Garbutt, who was not living at the apartment at the time the remains were discovered, was arrested seven months later.

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Campbell was last seen at 12 p.m. on June 4, 2009. At the time, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said she suffered from a diminished mental capacity.

After her body was found, Campbell’s sister Renee told KTLA that her sister was a “wonderful spirit.”

“She never was angry,” she said. “She was really trusting to a fault.”