Man gets 21-42 years in prison for Pittsburgh murder

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man who killed a woman and continued to live in her Pittsburgh apartment for days while her body decomposed on the sofa has gotten the maximum sentence for third-degree murder.

A judge sentenced 40-year-old David Wayne Alexander to 21 to 42 years in prison today for killing 39-year-old Dawn McGuire. He apologized to Judge Jill Rangos and asked for leniency, adding that he has started taking college classes in jail. She says she found no mitigating circumstances, and Alexander’s history gives her no hope that he will improve.

Alexander was arrested after his parole officer visited on Oct. 23 and noticed the stench of the decomposing body. He was convicted of third-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in July.