Andrew Garcia, 21, was convicted of first-degree murder for his role in the July 24, 2014 killing of 24-year-old USC graduate student Xinran Ji. Ji was walking home after a late-night study session near USC’s South Los Angeles campus when Garcia and three accomplices confronted and attacked him with a baseball bat and a wrench. Ji managed to return to his apartment but was later found dead by a roommate.

Prosecutors said the group targeted Ji because they believed he had money; the jury convicted Garcia of murder during an attempted robbery and found a special circumstance that he personally used a baseball bat. Co-defendant Alejandra Guerrero, then 16, and two young men, Jonathan Del Carmen and Alberto Ochoa, were also implicated; Guerrero was convicted of first-degree murder. The group was linked to a separate robbery and assault of a couple at Dockweiler State Beach shortly after Ji’s attack. Garcia was sentenced to life without parole.

Anyone with memories of the area or who knew Ji is asked to share what they remember.