Omaha man convicted of killing woman in her apartment

That's how Douglas County District Court Judge Marlon Polk described what he felt before sentencing Lorenzo Washington, 33, to 90 to 95 years in prison. Washington's second-degree murder conviction follows his guilty plea in April to the murder and sexual assault of Rita Hash, 58, in June 2022.

Hash's body was found in her apartment near Maple Street and Maplewood Boulevard on July 3, 2022. Court documents indicate Hash was killed three days before her body was found.

Before the sentencing, Deputy Douglas County Prosecutor Dara Delehant said Hash's injuries were consistent with a brutal sexual assault and indicated she died of strangulation.

DNA evidence found at the scene linked Washington to the crime.

Prosecutors said Hash's body was found in his apartment and there were bruises on his body and neck.

“The facts of this case are simply horrific,” Delehant said.

Polk agreed, saying the facts of the case were as bad as anything he had seen in his 19 years on the bench.

“It’s so beyond the pale that I’m at a loss for words,” the judge said.

Douglas County Deputy Public Defender Leslie Cavanaugh said Washington's criminal behavior was due to his struggles with schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Court documents show Washington had previously been found incompetent to stand trial and was incarcerated at the Lincoln Regional Center in 2023. Cavanaugh said Washington's mental health played a role in his desire not to go to trial.

As more than a half-dozen friends and family sat in the rows of the courtroom gallery and wore T-shirts honoring Hash's memory, they listened as the sister of Hash, Renee Adams, talking about her world turned upside down. Adams told the court she lived in a constant state of fear and had “an increased sense of PTSD” since her sister's death.

“I suffer every day,” Adams said. “What happened to my sister could happen to anyone, including me.”

Polk credited Washington with serving 675 days in prison. Washington will be eligible for parole in 38 years.