Duo tie noose around man’s neck and torture him for hours with pliers, CA officials say

A pair has been convicted in the hours-long torture and killing of a man in California, officials said.

Gerald Rowe, 52, was convicted in a jury trial and Angel Anderson, 41, separately pleaded guilty to the 2019 murder that was a result of torture and poisoning, according to a Jan. 23 news release by the San Francisco District Attorney.

Through evidence and testimonies, the jury learned that George Randall-Saldivar, 23, went to Rowe’s apartment in February 2019 where Anderson confronted him with a machete, officials said, according to KRON.

Rowe then tied him up, officials said.

A noose tied to a “pulley device near the ceiling” was put around Randall-Saldivar’s neck and his hands were tied behind his back with zip ties and duct tape, prosecutors said.

Then, Randall-Saldivar was tortured for more than four hours while in this position, officials said. He was yelled at, punched, sodomized, assaulted with pliers and a bag was put over his head.

Then Rowe left his apartment and got fentanyl, officials said. When he returned, the man and woman used a syringe to inject Randall-Saldivar with a fentanyl and water mixture, according to prosecutors.

Randall-Saldivar started to convulse and had difficulty breathing, the district attorney said.

While the victim was still alive, the pair put him in a rolling suitcase “before zipping it up and waiting for him to die,” officials said.

About 21 hours later, after the victim had died, Rowe and Anderson rolled the suitcase to a body of water near Rincon Park and disposed of the man’s body, officials said.

Fifteen days later, a resident found the man floating in the water near Pier 39, officials said.

“While this conviction cannot undo the hours of torture and painful poisoning experienced by the victim, it does condemn the depravity of the defendant’s acts along with the inhumane way he handled the victim’s remains when he threw him into the Bay like garbage,” Assistant District Attorney Charly Weissenbach said in the release.

Rowe is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole, officials said.

Anderson faces 25-years-to-life in prison, officials said.

“We feel an overwhelming sense of relief for the victim’s family who have waited far too long to receive justice in this case,” District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in the release. “Mr. Rowe and Ms. Anderson’s actions were heinous and a beloved son’s life was lost far too early.”

The pair is set to appear in court on March 18 for sentencing, the release said.

This story was originally published January 23, 2024 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Duo tie noose around man’s neck and torture him for hours with pliers, CA officials say."