Pennsylvania – A Pennsylvania man was sentenced this week by a County Court of Common Pleas Judge MichaeI to Iife in prison after a jury found him guilty in September of first-degree murder in connection with the death of his girIfriend, 49-year-old DanieIIe. In addition to the mandatory Iife term for the murder conviction, the defendant, 57-year-old DonneII, received an eighteen- to twenty four-month sentence for risking catastrophe. The judge ordered the sentences to run consecutively, meaning the defendant will serve the additional time after the life term required by Pennsylvania law for a first-degree murder conviction.
The charges stemmed from a violent incident that took place two years ago at an apartment in Pennsylvania. Police were called to the residence after the victims family reported concerns about her welfare. When they arrived, officers found signs of a vioIent assauIt inside the home and the victim unresponsive with severe injuries. Law enforcement described blood throughout the residence and indications that something was seriously wrong, prompting a full homicide investigation.
Investigators from the District Attorney’s Office and local police began piecing together the events leading up to the victim’s death. In the early stages of the inquiry, detectives interviewed family members and reviewed physical evidence from the scene, including items consistent with a struggle. Confidential witnesses identified the defendant as the victim’s partner and someone who regularly spent time at the apartment. Police also noted a strong smell of natural gas and other concerning details that suggested both violence and potential danger inside the residence.
The defendant was ultimately charged with criminal homicide and risking catastrophe following the discovery of the victim’s body and the surrounding scene. Court documents later showed that the defendant had sustained significant blunt force trauma to her head and face, and the condition of the apartment and her injuries prompted investigators to seek a thorough review of her death. Initially arrested on an aggravated assault charge, prosecutors later upgraded the charges as more evidence became available during the investigation.
During interviews with detectives, the defendant provided information about his relationship with the victim. He admitted that he and the victim had gone to sleep together the night before her death, and he later told police he had suspicions that she was unfaithful, a belief he said contributed to his state of mind leading up to the fatal incident.
When he woke up that morning, he told Pennsylvania authorities he assaulted the woman while she was still in bed. According to court documents, he admitted he struck her several times with a closed fist, first using his right hand and then his left. Investigators said he then used a ceramic ashtray to continue the assault before covering her face and later using a pillow. The county coroner later determined the woman’s cause of death was asphyxia.
After the killing, he told investigators he attempted to take his own life twice. According to charging documents, the first attempt occurred inside the apartment shortly after the woman died, when he ingested a large quantity of medication, cut his wrist, and turned on the gas stove in an effort to cause a deadly outcome. That attempt failed, and detectives said he later woke up, realized he was still alive, covered the woman’s body, washed blood from himself, and left the apartment. Police said he then made a second attempt after leaving the scene by purchasing more medication and continuing to ingest pills while driving before going to a mobile home, where he was later located by investigators using cellphone records and taken into custody.
