Current:Home > StocksMan pleads to 3rd-degree murder, gets 24 to 40 years in 2016 slaying of 81-year-old store owner-InfoLens
Man pleads to 3rd-degree murder, gets 24 to 40 years in 2016 slaying of 81-year-old store owner
View Date:2024-12-23 12:26:07
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A man has pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in the shooting death of a south Philadelphia corner store owner on Christmas Eve nearly seven years ago.
Maurice Green, 38, was sentenced to serve from 24 to 40 years in state prison last week on the murder charge and a related gun offense in the 2016 murder of 81-year-old Marie Buck.
“To shoot an unarmed, helpless 81-year-old woman … over a fight over a necklace is incomprehensible,” said Common Pleas Judge Glenn Bronson, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Prosecutor Joanne Pescatore said Green intended to kill another person he blamed for the theft of his $5,500 gold chain but that person wasn’t in the store that morning.
Green expressed remorse and apologized to the family in court Monday, saying he couldn’t bear to look Buck’s family in the eye and would give “an arm, a leg,” if he could to atone. He recalled growing up down the street from Marie’s Grocery and buying sandwiches there.
“I feel as though she haunts me at night,” Green said of Buck, who ran the store for more than 40 years and was a month from retirement.
A jury convicted Green of first-degree murder in a 2019 retrial after his first trial ended in a hung jury. He was sentenced to life without parole, but an appeals court overturned the verdict in 2021, saying the trial judge shouldn’t have allowed prosecutors to present evidence of a previous crime for which the defendant was never arrested or convicted.
Pescatore called the case “a sad commentary on drugs in this city” and said the family “just want this over with.” Family members, some crying, sat together in the courtroom during the proceedings.
“I just don’t think I could’ve went through another trial,” said Buck’s daughter, Marie, 62, who lives with her 87-year-old father two doors down from the former store now used as a medical office. “I miss her more than life itself,” she said.
veryGood! (82658)
Related
- Democratic state leaders prepare for a tougher time countering Trump in his second term
- Bill Belichick's not better at media than he was a NFL coach. But he might get close.
- Power Plant Pollution Targeted in Sweeping Actions by Biden Administration
- BNSF becomes 2nd major railroad to sign on to anonymous federal safety hotline for some workers
- Brian Austin Green’s Fiancée Sharna Burgess Celebrates Megan Fox’s Pregnancy News
- 17 states challenge federal rules entitling workers to accommodations for abortion
- William Decker: Founder of Wealth Forge Institute
- Selling weight-loss and muscle-building supplements to minors in New York is now illegal
- US Congress hopes to 'pull back the curtain' on UFOs in latest hearing: How to watch
- Chris Pine Reveals His Favorite Meme of Himself
Ranking
- Kelly Rowland and Nelly Reunite for Iconic Performance of Dilemma 2 Decades Later
- Celebrate National Pretzel Day: Auntie Anne's, Wetzel's Pretzels among places to get deals
- Tennessee lawmakers OK bill criminalizing adults who help minors receive gender-affirming care
- United Methodists endorse change that could give regions more say on LGBTQ and other issues
- Prosecutor failed to show that Musk’s $1M-a-day sweepstakes was an illegal lottery, judge says
- Watch family members reunite with soldiers after 9 months of waiting
- Jeezy Denies Ex Jeannie Mai's Deeply Disturbing Abuse Allegations
- Carol Burnett surprised by Bradley Cooper birthday video after cracking raunchy joke about him
Recommendation
-
Nicole Kidman Reveals the Surprising Reason for Starring in NSFW Movie Babygirl
-
Hurry! Everything at J. Crew Factory Is Now 50% Off, Including Their Chicest Linen Styles
-
A look at past and future cases Harvey Weinstein has faced as his New York conviction is thrown out
-
Nick and Aaron Carter doc announced by 'Quiet on Set' network: See the trailer
-
Fate of Netflix Series America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Revealed
-
Antiwar protesters’ calls for divestment at universities put spotlight on how endowments are managed
-
What Matty Healy's Mom Has to Say About Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department
-
School lunches are changing: USDA updates rules to limit added sugars for the first time