By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com
A Sacramento Superior Court jury today convicted Demario Richard Wiggins of second-degree murder in the July 20, 2009, shooting death of Tersha Jo Brown.
Wiggins, 32, faces at least a 15-to-life sentence from Judge Russell L. Hom. The sentence could be doubled to 30-to-life under the state's "three strikes" law pending a hearing scheduled for this afternoon on whether Wiggins has a previous violent felony conviction.
Prosecutors charged that Wiggins shot Brown, 26, in a dispute over whether he was having an affair.
Brown's family today described her as a one-time softball star who went to New Mexico State University on a full-ride scholarship. They said she eventually transferred to Sonoma State and graduated with a degree in English and went on to become a human resources manager for the Williams-Sonoma company in San Francisco.
They said she met Wiggins through a friend and that she quickly fell into major debt supporting his lifestyle heavy with drug dealing and gambling. They said when she sought to pull out of the relationship he threatened to kill her and her grandmother who lived in Vacaville.
"This is a tragedy that happens all the time," the victim's mother, Sharon Brown, said in an interview today. "You think your kids know right from wrong, but people can take you in."
Call The Bee's Andy Furillo, (916) 321-1141.









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