A judge on Friday sentenced a Clairemont man with a history of domestic violence to 15 years to life in prison for murdering a Pacific Beach woman who died after a beating.
David Charles Ashton, 63, was convicted of killing Regina Moore, 48, after he beat her with his fists on Jan. 23, 2016 in his home. He dropped her off at her other boyfriend’s home in Pacific Beach where she sometimes stayed.
“I am convicted Mr. Ashton is a violent individual,” said San Diego Superior Court Judge Louis Hanoian.
Hanoian said Ashton had a significant history of domestic violence of other women that included victims received black eyes and hospitalization. Moore also received black eyes from Ashton before, but she declined to press charges against him several times, according to court records.
Hanoian ordered Ashton to pay $1,292.90 to the crime victims’ compensation fund which paid for her funeral. He gave Ashton credit for 440 days previously spent in jail and fined him $10,224. A jury deliberated a day before acquitting him of first-degree murder and then convicted him of second-degree murder on March 8.
Moore may have underestimated her injuries and did not seek medical attention after Ashton took her to her other boyfriend’s residence. Her boyfriend called an ambulance at 3 a.m. and she died six hours later in a hospital.
She suffered from a subdural hematoma, which is bleeding in the area between her brain and skull. Her blood/alcohol level at the hospital was .23, which is almost four times the legal limit, according to court records.
Deputy District Attorney Nicole Rooney said the cause of death was multiple blunt force injury to her head and body. An autopsy showed she had seven injuries to her head, a broken rib, a broken arm, and bruising on her abdomen
Ashton’s attorney, William Nimmo, had suggested to jurors that he could at most be convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Nimmo said Ashton had remorse for the crime.
Ashton has also been accused of molesting a minor in 2004, and that case was filed after the murder case was brought against him. Ashton will face trial Oct. 2 in that case and has denied those charges.
Ashton worked as an electronic technician.
