A woman was convicted Tuesday in the April 2005 killing of a Westminster fortuneteller and her daughter four years ago that prosecutors said was due to a spell that didn’t work.
Tanya Nelson, 45, was found guilty by an Orange County Superior Court jury of the fatal stabbing of fortuneteller Ha Jade Smith, 52, and her daughter, Anita Vo, 23.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Sonia Balleste argued in court that Nelson blamed the fortuneteller for a bad fortune and was so angered that she decided to travel to Orange County from her North Carolina home to kill her.
The bodies of Smith and Vo were found stabbed and covered in white paint in their home. Credit cards, jewelry and cash were also taken from the home.
Five weeks later, police arrested Nelson in Orange County after she had assumed the identities of the victims and spent more than $3,000 on a shopping spree at South Coast Plaza.
–My-Thuan Tran
Photo of Smith. L.A. Times file