Christopher Howard Beachum strangled and stabbed an Oak Cliff man to death in his home after responding to his victim’s Craigslist ad one warm March night in 2013.
A Dallas County jury sentenced Beachum to life in prison last weekfor killing Gerald Cepena. Beachum also stole a TV, DVD player, computers and a cell phone from Cepena’s home. A previous jury couldn’t come to a conclusion regarding Beachum’s guilt or innocence.
Capena, a computer programmer who had retired from the Dallas Independent School District, was an avid cyclist.