Daughter was more than addict, victim's mom tells killer Hackett at sentencing

YOUNGSTOWN

Connie Carpenter wanted a judge to know Friday, just before he sentenced the man convicted of killing her daughter to life in prison without parole, that her daughter’s life was more than what was portrayed at trial.

She acknowledged before Judge John Durkin that her 30-year-old daughter, Collena Carpenter, had a drug addiction and it was painful to hear the details of that addiction while the man convicted of killing her, David Hackett, 54, was on trial in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

But she said she remembers her daughter as a funny woman who loved her son.

“That [addiction] was only a small portion of her life,” Connie Carpenter said. “She was a hard worker. She was a great mom. She had a sense of humor that was unbelievable. She could find something funny in just about any situation.”

Hackett, 54, of New York Avenue, was convicted by a jury Tuesday on charges of aggravated murder, rape and kidnapping. He served as his own lawyer in the trial, which lasted a week.

Collena Carpenter, of Homeworth in Columbiana County, was found Oct. 13, 2013, near West Avenue, stabbed 81 times.

Hackett maintained his innocence at his sentencing. He said he was sorry Collena Carpenter was dead, but he will be appealing his conviction and asked that a lawyer be appointed for his appeal.

Read more about the case in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.