SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - A Spokane man who stabbed to death a woman who was trying to help him clean up his life will spend more than 20 years in prison.
The Spokesman-Review reports Joseph W. K. Scheel was sentenced this week after previously pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death of 47-year-old Edna “Patty” P. Hernandez, who also went by Edna Patricia Rodriguez Gomez.
Spokane County Superior Court Judge Annette Plese noted that Hernandez had told co-workers that she had been abused by Scheel. Plese said Scheel was high on methamphetamines when he killed Hernandez.
Court records say Hernandez’s co-workers called Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies April 3 asking them to check on her welfare. Documents say deputies forced their way inside when Scheel resisted and found Hernandez’s body.
Hernandez died from a stab wound to the neck.
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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesman.com
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