PROVO, Utah (AP) — A Utah doctor
convicted of murdering his wife in a case that became a true-crime
cable TV obsession was sentenced Friday to 17 years to life in prison at
a hearing in which his daughter called him a monster.
The
long-awaited sentence came seven years after prosecutors say Martin
MacNeill knocked out his wife with drugs prescribed following cosmetic
surgery and left her to die in a bathtub so he could begin a new life
with his mistress.
"My father's facade has now crumbled," said
Alexis Somers, who asked the judge to give MacNeill the maximum penalty.
"My father is a monster. He has never shown remorse for any of his
crimes. He must be held accountable for his actions."
Judge
Derek Pullan gave the 58-year-old MacNeill the harshest term possible:
at least 15 years and up to life on the murder charge, plus one to 15
years on an obstruction-of-justice charge. A third sentence in a
separate sexual abuse case adds another one to 15 years.
Pullan
said the sentences must run one after the other, not at the same time.
The Utah parole board will decide later whether MacNeill can be released
after 17 years or must serve a longer term.
The one-time doctor
and lawyer with a family of eight did not address the court during the
sentencing. He appeared gaunt, with close-cropped gray hair and glasses.
Michele
MacNeill initially was ruled to have died of natural causes, possibly
heart disease, but her family hounded authorities until charges were
filed five years after her death.
Her sister Linda Cluff said she
imagines Michele MacNeill dying at her husband's hands and wonders
whether she was afraid or cried for help.
"He thought nothing more
of her than something to throw away and get rid of," said Cluff, who
turned and faced Martin MacNeill during the hearing.
"I can look into his eyes and say, 'Martin, you haven't gotten away with this," she said.
The
judge pointed to Martin MacNeill's careful planning, saying he'd
orchestrated the killing so his 6-year-old daughter would find her
mother dead.
"Mr.
MacNeill, as you deprived Michele MacNeill of her life, the state of
Utah exacts from you today the liberty you might have enjoyed in your
remaining years," Pullan said.
The case shocked the Mormon community of Pleasant Grove, about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City.
Martin
MacNeill has maintained his innocence. His attorney Randy Spencer
argued at trial that Michele MacNeill had a heart attack and fell into
the tub, and has said an appeal is likely. Spencer did not take
questions from reporters Friday.
Martin
MacNeill was medical director of the Utah State Development Center, a
residential center for people with cognitive disorders. He had a law
degree but wasn't known to practice.
Prosecutors
conceded the largely circumstantial case wasn't an easy one. Prosecutor
Chad Grunander said the trail had gone cold by the time he came onto
the case in 2010, and the judge excluded some evidence of the contention
roiling under the family's picture-perfect exterior.
"You
have a doctor and lawyer, beautiful wife, beautiful children,
well-educated, successful people, and this happens in the background,"
Grunander said. "It is shocking to some degree, certainly."
Last
year's trial peeled back that facade with testimony from jailhouse
snitches and Martin MacNeill's former mistress, Gypsy Willis.
Martin
MacNeill hired her as a nanny within weeks of his wife's death. But his
older daughters said they recognized the woman as his secret lover and
the subject of arguments between their parents.
Prosecutors said
Martin MacNeill insisted his 50-year-old wife get a face-lift and faked
his own medical condition to throw off suspicion in the weeks before her
death. They pointed to erratic behavior and what they called phony
grief the day she died.
Another daughter, Rachel MacNeill, said Friday her father promised to destroy her and her sisters after their mother's death.
"True
justice for my mother does not end with the conviction and sentencing
of her murderer, but that's the way it begins," she said.
Prosecutors
also introduced testimony from former cellmates of Martin MacNeill who
said he confessed to his wife's death. Spencer said they lied and
MacNeill should get a new trial, but the judge denied that motion late
last month
0 comments:
Post a Comment