A Navy Corpsman Had Returned Home From Walking Her Puppy. That Is When A Mentally-Ill Ex-Marine Shot Her To Death.

A Navy corpsman had just arrived home after taking her puppy for a walk. That is when a schizophrenic ex-Marine gunned her down at her front door.

Now, the former military member faces spending the rest of his life behind bars.

Last month, a California jury convicted Eduardo Arriola of first-degree murder and other counts for the killing of 24-year-old Devon Rideout. She was murdered outside her home in the San Diego area, according to Fox 5 San Diego.

Arriola faces life in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced this week.

Both Arriola and Rideout lived at the same apartment complex. On July 20, 2018, Rideout was shot multiple times around 4 p.m., according to Fox 5 San Diego.

Rideout was still in uniform when she was gunned down at her front door, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Arriola is a former Marine who was diagnosed with schizophrenia after he went missing for a year while on active duty, according to the Union-Tribune.

Police found writings on Arriola’s car that listed names and words, according to the Union-Tribune. One name was “Rideout,” and next to it the words read “R.I.P.”

Arriola was offered a plea deal that would have seen him serve time in a mental hospital, instead of prison, according to the report. But the ex-Marine rejected the offer and decided to take his case to trial.

“We certainly believed he was capable of committing murder ... and that he could be held responsible for his actions,” Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe said, according to the Union-Tribune.

Rideout’s mother, Leslie Woods, was sitting in the courtroom when the verdict was read, according to the Union-Tribune.

“There was so much emotion, so much relief,” Woods told the newspaper. “It’s not bringing my daughter back but it is the best we can get out of what he did. It is a big relief.”