Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Carmela dela Rosa, 51, offered a tearful, barely audible apology to her family, saying: Im very sorry for what Ive done. Circuit Court Judge Bruce White imposed the full sentence recommended by the jury that convicted her last year. Under Virginia law, White had the option to reduce the sentence to the mandatory minimum of 20 years, but could not go above the jurys recommendation.
Dela Rosa, a naturalized US citizen born in the Philippines, killed her granddaughter Angelyn Ogdoc at the end of a family outing in November 2010 to Tysons Corner Center. The evidence at trial showed that she deliberately hung back with Angelyn as the family exited along a nearly 15m skywalk connecting the mall to a multi-level parking garage, so she could scoop up Angelyn and toss her over the guardrail without any interference from her family.
In a videotaped confession, dela Rosa told police she killed Angelyn to get back at her son-in-law for getting her daughter pregnant out of wedlock and ruining her daughters opportunities for a better life. Dela Rosas lawyer, public defender Dawn Butorac, argued unsuccessfully that dela Rosas mental illness severe depression rendered her legally insane and unable to appreciate the consequences of her actions or understand right from wrong.
Virginia Commonwealths Attorney Ray Morrogh said that while it may be more comforting to believe that a grandmother must be crazy to kill her grandchild in such a brutal manner, the evidence showed that dela Rosa was a hateful, spiteful, jealous woman who harbored animosity not only against her son-in-law, but also at Angelyn herself for stealing attention away from dela Rosa. She admitted exactly that during her videotaped confession.
Grandma who threw girl off walkway gets 35 years - Taipei Times