A 42-year-old man was sentenced today to 31 years to life in state prison for planning to kill his wife's mother in her Long Beach home, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced.

On Dec. 1, 2015, a jury convicted Frank Haverly of three felony counts: conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder and home invasion robbery in case NA097487.

Haverly's wife and co-defendant, Holly Ramos, was found guilty by a jury on Dec. 3, 2015, of seven felony counts: two counts of forgery and one count each of conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, home invasion robbery, second-degree commercial burglary and grand theft of labor.

Ramos is scheduled to be sentenced on April 7 in Department S20 of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Long Beach Branch. She faces a possible maximum sentence of 33 years and eight months to life in state prison.

The third defendant, Keith Phillips, was convicted on Dec. 4, 2015, of home invasion robbery and sentenced to 10 years in state prison.

Deputy District Attorneys Irene Lee and Rachel Bodley, who co-prosecuted the case, said Holly Ramos had been defrauding her mother, the victim, of money between July and September 2013.

The mother discovered Ramos was forging checks from her savings account, prosecutors said.

Additionally, the mother petitioned for custody of Ramos' children subsequent to the arrest of Ramos on drug possession and child endangerment charges on Sept. 15, 2013 in Monterey County, prosecutors said.

After learning this, Haverly and Ramos hired defendant Phillips to kill Ramos' mother, prosecutors said.

Haverly concocted a story to have Phillips released from his court-ordered drug rehabilitation program in Menlo Park in order to carry out the murder, prosecutors said. Haverly provided clothing and a weapon for Phillips to attack the victim, prosecutors added. Also, Haverly and Ramos gave Phillips a van to get to Long Beach.

On Oct. 11, 2013, Phillips, armed with a bat concealed in a briefcase and gloves, went to the victim's home under the guise of being a social worker from the Monterey County Child Protective Services to do a home inspection, prosecutors said. He gave his real name. During the tour of the victim's home and when her back was turned, Phillips struck the victim on her head twice, exposing her skull and causing excessive bleeding, prosecutors said.

In the course of fleeing the home, Phillips stole the victim's purse and the fraud report she made against her daughter, the prosecutors said.

Five days after the attack, Haverly and Ramos sold the van used by Phillips, prosecutors said. Haverly also made statements that he wanted the victim dead and that he knew what Phillips was going to do, according to court testimony.

Following a month-long investigation into the brutal attack on the victim, authorities charged Haverly, Ramos and Phillips in connection with the crimes.

The case was investigated by the Long Beach Police Department.

Los Angeles County District Attorney / case NA097487 / March 11, 2016