Man Sentenced to 15-Year-to-Life Prison Term for Murder of Actress' Sister

From City News Service

A former recruiter at Cal State Northridge was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in prison for the murder of his wife, the sister of actress Aasha Davis.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen denied the defense's motion for a new trial for Lyle Stanford Herring, 59, who was found guilty April 8 of second-degree murder.

The judge noted that the case against the former Hollywood resident was based on circumstantial evidence -- the body of his wife, Lesley, has not been found -- but said "the evidence is overwhelming."

Davis -- who testified during the trial -- told the judge just before the sentence was imposed that her sister's road "ended in a dark place" and that she hoped their family would be given "closure" by learning the whereabouts of her sibling's body.

During the trial, defense attorney Marvin Hamilton Jr. argued that his client's wife simply disappeared in 2009 and there was no evidence to suggest she had been killed or that she was even dead. He suggested that she may have gone "underground" to leave her husband.

"I would suggest to you that she's still able to return," the defense attorney said during the trial, telling jurors there was no plausible evidence that Lesley Herring was dead.

Deputy District Attorney Pak Kouch countered, "The defense would have us believe ... she is out there ... Where is the corroboration that Lesley is out there somewhere?"

The 44-year-old woman's car, purse, wallet, keys, cellular telephone and the bracelets she routinely wore were left behind, along with $26,000 in her savings account. And a cadaver dog from the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office alerted on the defendant's two vehicles -- a Mitsubishi and a Cadillac -- suggesting that her body had been in each of the vehicles, the prosecutor said.

She was last seen Feb. 7, 2009, at the couple's condominium complex in the 2700 block of North Cahuenga Boulevard.

Davis -- who has appeared on "Grey's Anatomy" and "Friday Night Lights" -- reported her sister missing after she failed to show up at work for several days. The actress made public pleas for help in finding her sister, and Lyle Herring even took part in a 2009 police news conference asking for help.

But in March 2009, Los Angeles Police Department Detective Chris Gable said he would describe Herring's "cooperation as fragmented and less than helpful -- not (something) I would expect for a grieving husband."

Herring was arrested in April 2010 in connection with his wife's disappearance and has remained jailed since then. He is expected to appeal his conviction.