Ind. man gets life in prison for dismembering girl

June 18, 2012 at 2:15p.m.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for bludgeoning and dismembering a 9-year-old girl, then hiding her head, hands and feet in his freezer.

Prosecutors dropped their bid for the death penalty last month when Michael Plumadore pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in the Dec. 22 death of Aliahna Maroney-Lemmon. A judge accepted the plea Monday and added 36 years to the life sentence.

Aliahna’s relatives described 39-year-old Plumadore as a family friend who had helped care for the girl’s dying grandfather. He was babysitting Aliahna and her 6-year-old sisters because their mother was sick. The other girls weren’t harmed.

Plumadore told authorities he repeatedly hit Aliahna in the head with a brick and cut her up with a hacksaw.