A Vermont woman convicted of killing a social worker and three relatives that she thought played a role in her losing custody of her daughter will spend the rest of her life in prison.
A judge on Wednesday sentenced 43-year-old Jody Herring to life without parole in the 2015 shooting deaths of social worker Lara Sobel and three of Herring's relatives.
The judge's decision came at the end of a three-day sentencing hearing in Barre.
Herring pleaded guilty in July to killing Sobel. She also admitted that earlier the same day she killed two cousins, Rhonda Herring and Regina Herring, and an aunt, Julie Falzarano.
Herring's attorneys argued for a lesser sentence because she had suffered a lifetime of trauma.
Under Vermont law, Herring faced a minimum sentence of 35 years to life.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
