| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Palmdale woman sentenced for killing her mother
Wednesday August 13, 2003LOS ANGELES (AP) A Palmdale woman found guilty of killing her husband more than a decade ago was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison for the slaying of her 67-year-old mother.
Vanessa Walker, 44, was convicted last month for the 2001 murder of Nada Lazarevic, whose body was found dumped in rural northern Kern County.
She and her second husband, who was tried by a separate jury, were accused of killing Lazarevic to get out of thousands of dollars in debt they racked up in the woman's name.
Prosecutors believe her husband, Ken, 40, strangled the mother, who died of blunt trauma. He was sentenced last month to 15 years to life.
In sentencing Walker on Tuesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Terry Green said ``I don't have words to express the outrage I feel.''
Walker denied killing her mother in court and said she a was a victim of domestic violence several months before the murder. She apologized for ``my lack in judgment for not reporting this crime. I have three children that I love dearly that need me to take care for them.''
Walker's sister, Jasmina Trifunovic, denounced her as an ``evil, inhuman and a cold-blooded person.''
Walker served 18 months on a voluntary manslaughter conviction in 1989 after shooting her first husband to death in Contra Costa County. She pleaded innocent, arguing that she was a victim of battered women's syndrome.
Authorities said Lazarevic, who disappeared Aug. 25, lent nearly $50,000 dollars to her daughter and son-in-law to pay off credit cards and help finance a move to Oregon.
But after the victim confronted the couple about overdue bills, prosecutors argued that the Walkers killed Lazarevic and dumped her body on a remote stretch of Kern County highway.
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