Woman Sentenced in Cold Case Killing of U.S. Marine

VISTA, CA — A woman convicted in the 1991 murder of Marine Cpl. Lindell Mitchell was sentenced Tuesday to 26 years to life in prison, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office announced.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Blaine Bowman sentenced Kimberly Andrews, 40, in the cold case killing of Mitchell, which occurred shortly before midnight on Christmas Eve, 1991, when intruders forced their way into his Vista apartment.

"It took more than two decades for the defendant to be held responsible for her actions, but ultimately justice was served," said District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis. "The dedicated prosecutors in our Cold Case Homicide Unit and their law enforcement counterparts don’t give up and this is a great example of the outstanding work they do to bring a measure of closure to victims’ loved ones."

A jury convicted Andrews of first-degree murder for her role in the killing.

According to the District Attorney's Office, Mitchell, along with some of his Marine friends, invited Andrews and her friends to a gathering at his apartment. During the get together, an argument broke out between Andrews and Mitchell’s roommate. Andrews threatened the Marines that she would be back with others to shoot up the home.

Later than night, a group of men burst through Mitchell’s door and carried out Andrews’ earlier threat, ultimately shooting Mitchell in the back and killing him.

With the initial investigation unable to identify the majority of those responsible for the murder, the case went cold.

In 2012, a joint cold case investigation by the San Diego Sheriff’s Department and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service revealed new leads and evidence that resulted in Andrews’ arrest in Louisiana in July 2014.

The continuing investigation also led to the arrest of James Wesley Noble, 59, who was taken into custody in Hemet last October. He is charged with first-degree murder. Noble is scheduled for jury trial on Oct. 17, in the San Diego County North County Regional Courthouse in Vista.