Man sentenced in fatal stabbing, sexual mutilation
July 18, 2007
Adapted from Reading Eagle
A county judge sentenced a man to life in prison for fatally stabbing and sexually mutilating a man during an argument.
A 33-year-old man was convicted of first-degree murder in the slaying of a 39-year-old.
The life sentence imposed was mandatory.
The perpetrator told police he went to the other man’s apartment to trade cocaine for sex, according to testimony.
The 33-year-old said the men argued and he stabbed the 39-year-old with a scissors before sexually mutilating him, witnesses testified.
Meals on Wheels volunteers found the man’s body several hours later when they tried to deliver lunch to the 39-year-old, who was recovering from back surgery.
The assistant district attorney said he was pleased with the verdict and the sentence.
“The victim’s family deserves the justice they got,” he said.
The 33-year-old’s court-appointed lawyer said he plans an appeal to the state Superior Court.
The perpetrator served three months in prison for a drunken driving conviction ten years ago, according to court officials.
Medical authorities said the victim was stabbed 17 times in the neck and chest.
The 33-year-old then mutilated the 39-year-old with a kitchen knife while he was dying, according to testimony.
The assistant district attorney said the victim, who was 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 120 pounds, had not harmed the perpetrator, who is 6 feet 3 inches and weighs 220 pounds.
During the trial, the court-appointed lawyer argued that the perpetrator killed the victim in self-defense because the 39-year-old attacked him with the scissors. |
