News - Local - South County

Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008

Man convicted of killing girlfriend by piling sand on her while she was intoxicated at Oceano Dunes

Jury trials to start next week for two other men charged in case

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One of three homeless men accused of killing a woman by piling sand on her while she was intoxicated at the Oceano Dunes was convicted of felony involuntary manslaughter Monday.

David Wesley Cartwright, 59, faces up to four years in state prison for the death of his girlfriend, homeless woman Patricia Ann Kalbskopf.

Prior strikes on his record bump up Cartwright’s maxi-mum possible prison sentence to eight years, according to Deputy District Attorney Jarret Gran. Cartwright was convicted of armed robbery in 1985 in Los Angeles County and robbery the same year in Oklahoma, according to court records. He served a prison sentence in 1998 for a forgery conviction in Los Angeles.

Sheriff’s investigators and prosecutors believe Cartwright and two other homeless men, James Lee Proffer, 52, and Kelly Marvin Johnson, 41, were drinking at a campsite at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area with Kalbskopf on the evening of May 14 when she became intoxicated and passed out. The men then piled sand on top of her as a prank, investigators said.

At some point, they realized Kalbskopf, a U. S. Navy veteran who was originally from Baltimore, wasn’t breathing and called for help, officials said. An off-duty paramedic tried to resuscitate her, but she was pronounced dead en route to Arroyo Grande Community Hospital.

An autopsy determined that Kalbskopf, 53, died of asphyxiation by inhalation of sand. Investigators did not know how long she was covered with sand or how much was piled on top of her.

Her death is one of two this year from being buried in the sand at the Oceano Dunes. A Santa Maria man was accused of killing his girlfriend’s 5-year-old son by covering his face while playing at the beach with the child and the boy’s mother July 4, according to investigators.

The two other suspects in the Kalbskopf case, Proffer and Johnson, are expected to start jury trials next week.

The jury in Cartwright’s trial began deliberating late Friday and reached a verdict mid-morning Monday. Cartwright’s arraignment is scheduled for October 20. He is in custody at the San Luis Obispo County Jail.