The State - News from July 4, 1986

A Fresno County jury recommended the death penalty for a man convicted of killing four women and attacking three others in a two-year series of rapes and robberies. All but one of the victims were prostitutes picked up in Fresno. The slayings became known as the “ditchbank” murders because the victims were found dumped in irrigation canals and a pond in 1983 and 1984. Wilbur Jennings, 45, maintained his innocence and charged during the penalty phase that the prosecution paid witnesses to lie about him. Formal sentencing is set for Aug. 29.