Special circumstances added to murder charge
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A grand jury indictment unsealed Friday adds special circumstances allegations against a man accused of raping and murdering a pregnant Costa Mesa woman in 1988, making him potentially eligible for a death sentence.
Jason Michael Balcom, 36, was charged with murder for allegedly killing Malinda Gibbons, 22, during the commission of sodomy, attempted rape, robbery, and burglary, according to Orange County prosecutors.
Balcom was arrested in 2004 after a DNA hit allegedly linked him to the crime. At the time, he was in Michigan serving a rape sentence.
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