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Zamora sentenced in 2005 fortune teller slaying
A man who helped a friend kill a Westminster fortune teller and her daughter in 2005 was sentenced today to 25 years to life behind bars.
Phillipe Zamora, 55, will be 82 years old before his first parole opportunity, according to prosecutors.
Zamora pleaded guilty nearly a year ago to two counts of first-degree murder and a residential burglary count, for which Orange County Superior Court Judge Frank Fasel tacked on an additional two-year term.
Last month, a North Carolina woman who paid to have her fortune told but didn't like what she heard was found guilty of robbing and killing the victims.
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Jurors have since recommended the death penalty for the 45-year-old Roanoke Rapids resident, who is awaiting formal sentencing.
Nelson is eligible for a death sentence because jurors found true special circumstance allegations of murder during the course of a robbery and multiple murders, and lying in wait with regard to the younger victim.
Deputy District Attorney Sonia Balleste said Nelson, with help from Zamora, killed fortune teller Ha Smith, 52, and her daughter, Anita Vo, because she was upset at losing her lover and Smith could not grant her wish to reunite with him.
She enlisted Zamora, who was a prosecution witness in her trial, to help her by promising to fix him up with gay sex partners, Balleste said.
Zamora, also of Roanoke Rapids, admitted fatally stabbing Smith and acknowledged joining Nelson in killing Vo, a 23-year-old college student.
Balleste told jurors that Smith was well known for wearing flashy jewelry, including earrings worth $30,000, and Nelson schemed for a way to rob and kill Smith for her valuables.
Nelson and Zamora — who is gay but was married to a friend of hers — arrived in Orange County on April 19, 2005, and went to Smith's home in Westminster two days later, Balleste said.
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Nelson and Smith were already acquainted with each other — Nelson had owned a store called Intimate Moments in Orange County and was a client of Smith's previously. Zamora's wife also had her fortune told by Smith.
The two used kitchen knives to kill Smith and Vo, whose bodies were found bloodied and covered in white paint, Balleste said.
After the slayings, Nelson went on a $75,000 monthlong spending spree with Smith's stolen credit cards. Balleste told jurors about numerous transactions in Georgia, Orange County and North Carolina — an electronic trail that included switching out mailing addresses for credit card bills and other evidence.
Nelson's downfall came when she bought airline tickets with the stolen credit cards and used Smith's and Vo's names as passengers for her and her children, Balleste said. That led police to watch her at the airport and followed her as they got on the plane back to Orange County, where she was arrested.
Nelson's attorney, Ken Reed, told jurors that Zamora was a liar who changed his story several times and was the lone killer.
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