He Murdered A Woman He Met Online And Slaughtered Her Dog. Now, He'll Spend Several Decades In Prison.

Perhaps he was angry about an impending breakup or the slowing down of a relationship. Police have theories, but they are not completely sure of a motive.

Regardless, a California man will be heading to jail for decades after stabbing and severely beating a woman and her dog before setting her senior living apartment on fire in March 2019.

Chaumon Wayan Tyner, 53, of Inglewood, was convicted of first-degree murder in connection to the death of death of Ronny Sue Wall, who had dated him briefly after meeting online. Tyner faces a maximum sentence of 70 years to life in prison, according to the Daily Bulletin.

Fire crews arrived at Wall's one-bedroom apartment at Serenity Villas in March 2019 to find charred carpet and other remnants of arson inside her third-story unit. Soon after, they found Wall's battered body along with her pet's. The Daily Bulletin reported that Wall was stabbed several times and badly beaten, according to an autopsy. The dog, a Yorkshire terrier named Bentley, was found curled up next to Wall's body.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Wall was killed March 16, and her body was discovered two days later after firefighters went to her home on Bonita Avenue in Pomona at approximately 6 a.m. for the fire.

“The murder of an innocent victim is a senseless tragedy,” District Attorney George Gascón told the Los Angeles Times. “It leads to heartache and lasting pain for the victims’ friends, family and community. The defendant’s actions in this case were brutal and depraved.”

Tyner was found guilty of first-degree murder, animal cruelty and arson of an inhabited structure on Sept. 19. “He brutally murdered her,” said Wall’s mother, Patricia Hayes. “He beat her and stabbed her.”

However, no one seems to know exactly why Tyner killed Wall. “I don’t know what happened. My guess is she was breaking up with him,” Deputy District Attorney Phillip Stirling said, according to the Daily Bulletin.

“There was some evidence she wanted to slow things down and wanted to focus on her relationship with her son,” Pomona police Detective Joe Dolgovin said.

Authorities said there was little question as to who committed the crime because Tyner's DNA was found under Wall's fingernails and on the murder weapon, a pair of scissors, according to the Daily Bulletin.

The Daily Bulletin reported that Wall was the oldest of five children. According to her mother, she had a very strong connection with the dog. “She loved that dog. She took him everywhere with her,” Hayes said.

According to the Daily Bulletin, Wall met Hayes on Plenty of Fish, an online dating website. Dolgovin said they dated for approximately a month.