Woman sentenced for murder at Pomona mental-health facility

WEST COVINA -- A woman convicted of murdering a fellow resident at a Pomona mental-health facility has been sentenced to 26 years to life in prison, a prosecutor said.

Nicole Ann Stewart was sentenced Tuesday in West Covina Superior Court, said Deputy District Attorney Stacy Okun-Wiese.

Stewart, 35, was convicted of first-degree murder in March for fatally stabbing Robin Ridgeway two years ago at Hamilton Villa in the 900 block of South Hamilton Boulevard.

Both women were residents of Hamilton Villa. Stewart and a man at the facility were dating, and Stewart viewed Ridgeway, 49, as a romantic rival, according to court testimony.

Stewart was armed with a foot-long knife when she approached Ridgeway at about 4 p.m. on July 23, 2009 in the facility's courtyard, where Ridgeway was talking to a psychologist and another resident.

Stewart reportedly said, "Take that," and, "Don't mess with my husband," as she stabbed Ridgeway several times in the back, according to testimony in the case.

A jury convicted Stewart at the end of a trial in which five witnesses testified about Ridgeway's killing. The jury also found that Stewart was sane at the time of the incident.