21 November 2011 :

Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy sentenced James Fayed, 48, white, to death for arranging his wife's murder in 2008. A jury on May 31 (see) recommended the death penalty for the former gold trader after finding him guilty of murder and conspiracy following a monthlong trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Fayed's wife, Pamela, was stabbed 13 times in the Watts Tower parking garage on July 28, 2008 as she was going to her car after a meeting between the couple and their attorneys. The Fayeds were in the middle of a divorce and a federal probe of their gold-trading business. Fayed hired an employee to plan the assault, according to prosecutors. The employee and 2 men prosecutors allege carried out a fatal ambush are awaiting trial on murder and conspiracy charges.