Omaha Man Receives 90-95 Year Sentence for “HORRIFIC” Killing of Woman in Her Apartment

Douglas County District Court Judge Marlon Polk explained his thoughts before sentencing 33-year-old Lorenzo Washington to 90 to 95 years in prison. Washington was sentenced to second-degree murder after pleading guilty in April to the killing and sexual assault of Rita Hash, 58, in June 2022.

Hash’s body was discovered at her residence on Maple Street and Maplewood Boulevard on July 3, 2022. Court evidence suggested that Hash was murdered three days before her body was discovered.

Before the sentence, Douglas County Deputy Attorney Dara Delehant stated that Hash’s injuries were consistent with a severe sexual assault and that he died from strangling.

DNA evidence from the scene linked Washington to the crime.

Prosecutors claimed Hash’s body was discovered at her residence, with injuries on her body and neck. “The facts of the case are nothing short of horrific,” Delehant explained.

Polk concurred, stating that the case facts were as awful as anything he had seen in his 19 years on the court. “That is so far above and beyond the pale that I’m at a loss for words,” the judge responded.

Leslie Cavanaugh, Douglas County Assistant Public Defender, stated that Washington’s criminal behavior stemmed from his schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder.

According to court documents, Washington was previously ruled unable to stand trial and committed to the Lincoln Regional Center in 2023. Cavanaugh claimed Washington’s mental health played a role in his decision not to go to trial.

More than a half-dozen friends and relatives sat in the rows of the courtroom gallery, wearing T-shirts honoring Hash’s memory, listening to Hash’s sister, Renee Adams, describe how her world was flipped upside down. Adams told the court that she has been living in constant terror and experiencing “a heightened sense of PTSD” since her sister’s murder.

“I suffer every day,” Adams explained. “What happened to my sister could happen to anyone, including me.” Polk credited Washington for serving 675 days in jail. Washington will become eligible for parole in 38 years.