HAZLE TWP., LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A man has been sentenced to the maximum of 20 to 40 years in prison after being found guilty of third-degree murder for killing 41-year-old Helena Johnson in 2021 .
Joseph Sarmiento, 40, of New York, has been sentenced after being found guilty but mentally ill of third-degree murder.
Mom facing charges after allegedly driving son to fight
Johnson, of Massachusetts, was found dead on June 6, 2021, at the Red Carpet Inn in Hazle Township. A forensic pathologist testified that Johnson was struck a minimum of 10 times and that there was evidence of strangulation.
“This defendant’s attempts to avoid accountability for the brutal killing of Miss Johnson ended today with this decades-long prison sentence,” Attorney General Sunday said. “We hope this verdict and sentence provide a sense of solace for the people who loved her and miss her every day.”…