Woman gets life in prison for murder

Prosecutors were prepared to seek the death penalty.
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) -- A woman was sentenced to life in prison without parole in the shooting death of a pregnant woman.
Patricia Leigh Stark, 24, of Plains Township, pleaded guilty in the July 31 shooting death of Cari Chapman.
Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. also sentenced her to an additional 84 to 168 months for the death of the unborn child.
Stark told relatives of the victim Friday that merely saying that she was sorry was not enough for the death of Chapman, who was shot three times and left in a Franklin Township creek bed to die.
"I'm giving my life in return because that's what I deserve," Stark told the family.
Death penalty
Assistant District Attorney Michael Vogue said prosecutors had been prepared to seek the death penalty, but family members were satisfied with the plea. They also asked for a consecutive sentence for the victim's unborn child, which officials said guarantees that Stark will never be freed.
"You're a horrible person, and I hope you live a long, horrible life," said the victim's 22-year-old sister, Roni Weitz.
Chapman's older sister, Erin Adams, 29, asked Stark how she could live with herself for taking the victim away from her two children.
"I have to tell her 3-year-old son his mom's in heaven and she's an angel," Adams said.
Defense attorney William Ruzzo, however, said he believes Stark is a different person than her actions might indicate.
"She really has some core of inner goodness," he said.
Other shootings
Stark also pleaded guilty in the shooting of Thomas Ohop, 18, who drove Chapman to pick up Stark. He is doing well although he still has a bullet in his lung, said Tim Doherty, assistant district attorney.
"He's a very lucky young man," Doherty said. "Lucky to be alive."
Stark's boyfriend, Charles "Ty" Harris, 24, was also in court Friday to plead not guilty in the shooting of Samantha Banellis, 21, less than 15 hours before Chapman was killed. Harris and Stark were fugitives for two weeks before they were captured in Philadelphia.
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