Were Hannah Strumner and Pertina Jynita Epps born in Burbank, California?

Pertina Jynita Epps was an African-American computer researcher born in Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Hannah Nicole Strumner is an American singer-songwriter born in Burbank, Los Angeles County, California, USA.

Some scenes of the Ken Carter biopic “Coach Carter” were shot at Safari Inn Motel in Burbank. The film was released on January 14, 2005.

On April 26, 2005, Strumner turned 3. On the same day, Epps died in Gardena, Los Angeles County, which is around 25 miles away from Burbank.

Hannah Strumner

Strumner plays the piano, the guitar and the ukulele. She writes and sings country music.

Since Strumner was a child, she has battled many medical challenges. She was diagnosed with mitochondrial disorder in 2008 and with type 1 diabetes in 2019.

“I didn’t have a lot of friends at school and usually, I wasn’t included,” Strumner told Bold Journey in August 2023. “This was due to me being at frequent hospital visits and doctors appointments trying to figure out what was going on with me.”

During the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Strumner received a call from a producer in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, USA who wanted her to record some of her music at his studio. Because of the pandemic, she was unable to fly there so she recorded vocals at The Tonic Room Recording and Mastering Studios in Boise, Ada County, Idaho, USA and sent them over to Nashville.

On July 16, 2022, Strumner released her self-titled debut album. It has eight songs including “Fool School”.

After the release of the album, the Burbank native immediately went back to the studio to work on new music. In March 2023, she told Shoutout LA, “I am so grateful for my producer as we are able to turn a song that I wrote on my bedroom floor to a song with a bunch of instruments and vocals recorded.”

Pertina Jynita Epps

Epps was a resident of Gardena. She later moved to San Diego, San Diego County, California.

On December 2, 2004, Epps turned 21. On April 25, 2005, she moved back from San Diego to Gardena.

At around 1:00 p.m. on April 26, 2005, Epps was found dead in Gardena. A resident who was backing out of a carport discovered her body in an empty parking stall near an apartment complex in the 2700 block of West 141st Place in Gardena.

Epps’ cause of death was strangulation. At the time of her murder, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) conducted an extensive investigation and all leads were exhausted.

In 2021, the LASD’s homicide unsolved unit reviewed the case, according to Alejandra Parra, a deputy from the department’s information bureau. Forensic evidence left at the crime scene was resubmitted for examination, using current technology and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and fingerprint evidence was determined to belong to Charles A. Wright of Hawthorne, Los Angeles County.

On September 17, 2006, Wright allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted a woman, then 18. He was employed by the Inglewood Unified School District in Inglewood, Los Angeles County as a middle school teacher when he was named the suspect in Epps’ murder.

On January 27, 2022, Wright was arrested for Epps’ murder. On the same day, he was released after posting $1 million bail.

On February 1, 2022, Wright was arrested for the 2006 crime. On July 10, 2024, a jury convicted him of first-degree murder, kidnapping for oral copulation and forced oral copulation.

On July 24, 2024, the middle school teacher from Hawthorne turned 59. He was supposed to be sentenced on September 10, 2024 but he died on August 13, 2024.