DES MOINES, Iowa — A Des Moines man will spend the rest of his life in prison for beating his girlfriend to death.
Derrick Earnest, 61, was found guilty of the first-degree murder of Holly Snowgren in May. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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Police said Earnest beat Snowgren with a two-by-ten board in an alley east of Good Park, between 14th Street and 14th Place, in the early morning hours of April 19, 2024. Surveillance cameras in the area also caught Earnest punching and kicking her, while he threatened to kill her, and she begged him to stop.
About 40 minutes after the assault, Earnest brought Snowgren to Methodist Medical Center’s emergency room. She suffered broken ribs, lacerations, a stab wound, and other injuries in the assault. She died later that morning.
At the sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Snowgren’s family called her a “beautiful soul” who saw the good in people, including Earnest. Her sister, Monica McClaskey, addressed Earnest, saying, “You betrayed it in the worse possible way.”…