Pa. man gets at least 12 years in ’09 strangling

CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to at least a dozen years in prison for strangling a woman after prosecutors agreed that he didn’t intend to kill her.

A Cumberland County judge sentenced 44-year-old Richard Hodge to 12 to 25 years in prison Tuesday in the January 2009 slaying. Hodge had pleaded guilty to third-degree murder last month in the death of 45-year-old Sheila Kline.

Kline’s body was found in an alley shortly after police say she met Hodge and another man in a bar.

Hodge hoped for forgiveness during his hearing in Cumberland County Court.

A second suspect was charged with taking Kline’s wallet but those charges were later dropped.