Mormon doctor 'LAUGHS' as he is jailed for 17 years for poisoning and drowning his wife so he could start a new life with his mistress

  • Martin MacNeill knocked out wife Michele MacNeill with drugs prescribed following cosmetic surgery and left her to die in a bathtub
  • Sentenced to 17 years to life in prison
  • MacNeill had hired secret lover, Gypsy Willis, as family nanny
  • Grieving family begs for toughest sentence possible
  • Victim's sister, Linda Cuff, said Martin was 'laughing at them' all despite possibility he could die in prison

A Utah doctor found guilty of killing his wife in a trial that became a national true-crime cable TV obsession will serve 17 years to life in prison, a state judge decided Friday.

The long-awaited sentence comes seven years after prosecutors say Martin MacNeill knocked out his wife with drugs prescribed following cosmetic surgery and left her to die in a bathtub so he could begin a new life with his mistress.

MacNeill, 58, was sentenced to at least 15 years and up to life in prison on a murder charge, plus one to 15 years on an obstruction of justice charge.

Guilty: Martin MacNeill stands in the courtroom before his sentencing Friday after being convicted of killing his wife

Guilty: Martin MacNeill stands in the courtroom before his sentencing Friday after being convicted of killing his wife

Mormon doctor 'who murdered his wife moved lover into the family home just weeks later to work as his children's nanny'
Martin MacNeill, 56, 'gave wife Michele lethal cocktail of drugs before she was found drowned in the bath at their home' in 2007
Gypsy Jyll Willis 'met him online in 2005 and started a relationship'
She 'moved into a house he owned and he gave her an unlimited credit card'
After wife's death, MacNeill 'orchestrated a meeting between his daughter and Willis at a Mormon temple and pretended not to know her'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2216213/Martin-MacNeill-case-Mormon-doctor-murdered-wife-moved-lover-family-home-just-weeks-later-work-childrens-nanny.html#ixzz3DmyX6yTg 
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Mormon doctor 'who murdered his wife moved lover into the family home just weeks later to work as his children's nanny'
Martin MacNeill, 56, 'gave wife Michele lethal cocktail of drugs before she was found drowned in the bath at their home' in 2007
Gypsy Jyll Willis 'met him online in 2005 and started a relationship'
She 'moved into a house he owned and he gave her an unlimited credit card'
After wife's death, MacNeill 'orchestrated a meeting between his daughter and Willis at a Mormon temple and pretended not to know her'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2216213/Martin-MacNeill-case-Mormon-doctor-murdered-wife-moved-lover-family-home-just-weeks-later-work-childrens-nanny.html#ixzz3DmyX6yTg 
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Lady killer: Martin murdered wife Michele MacNeill (left) to be with secret lover Gypsy Willis (right), who testified against him

A third sentence in a separate sexual abuse case will add another one to 15 years.

Judge Derek Pullan ruled Friday the sentences will run one after the other. The Utah parole board will decide later whether MacNeill can be released after 17 years or must serve a longer term.

The one-time doctor and lawyer with a family of eight remained silent during sentencing.

'Mr. MacNeill, as you deprived Michele MacNeill of her life, the state of Utah exacts from you today the liberty that you otherwise might have enjoyed in your remaining years,' Pullan said. 

Martin MacNeill's daughter Alexis Somers wipes a tear from her face after speaking to the court during her father's sentencing Friday

Martin MacNeill's daughter Alexis Somers wipes a tear from her face after speaking to the court during her father's sentencing Friday

Michele MacNeill initially was ruled to have died of natural causes, possibly heart disease, but her family hounded authorities until charges were filed five years after her death.

A sobbing daughter Rachel MacNeill begged Pullan for the maximum sentence.

'He took the kindest, most caring person I've ever known, and he calculatingly took her from us all,' she said, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.

The victim's sister, Linda Cuff, said painful questions lingered about Michele's final moments.

  
The long-awaited sentence comes seven years after prosecutors say Martin MacNeill knocked out his wife with drugs prescribed following cosmetic surgery and left her to die in a bathtub so he could begin a new life with his mistress

The long-awaited sentence comes seven years after prosecutors say Martin MacNeill knocked out his wife with drugs prescribed following cosmetic surgery and left her to die in a bathtub so he could begin a new life with his mistress

'I shatter thinking of my sister looking at her own husband as he was doing this to her,' she said.

She then paused, and turned toward MacNeill.

'I can finally look into the eyes of my sister's murderer and say, 'Martin, you haven't gotten away with this,' she said.

But when she looked into those eyes, she saw noting.

'He was up there laughing,' she told reporters. 'He showed no remorse. I was not surprised, it was the Martin I've always known.'

Survivors: Martin MacNeill's daughter Alexis Somers, left, receives a hug from her aunt, Susan Hare following the Martin MacNeill sentencing

Survivors: Martin MacNeill's daughter Alexis Somers, left, receives a hug from her aunt, Susan Hare following the Martin MacNeill sentencing

Deputy Utah County Attorneey Chad Grunander agreed.

'I think it demonstrates a lack of respect for the process,' Grunander said. 'I think the defendant simply doesn't get it.'

The case against Martin MacNeill shocked the Mormon community of Pleasant Grove, about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Martin MacNeill has maintained his innocence. His attorney argued at trial that Michele MacNeill had a heart attack and fell into the tub, and has said an appeal is likely.

  
Family members hold up photos of Michele MacNeill facing Martin MacNeill, not shown, during an August 27, 2012 court date

Family members hold up photos of Michele MacNeill facing Martin MacNeill, not shown, during an August 27, 2012 court date

Judgement day: Martin MacNeill enters the courtroom before his sentencing, Friday

Judgement day: Martin MacNeill enters the courtroom before his sentencing, Friday

  

Prosecutors conceded the largely circumstantial case wasn't an easy one.

Prosecutor Chad Grunander said the trail had gone cold by the time he came onto the case in 2010, and the judge excluded some evidence of the contention roiling under the family's picture-perfect exterior.

'You have a doctor and lawyer, beautiful wife, beautiful children, well-educated, successful people, and this happens in the background. It is shocking to some degree, certainly,' Grunander said.

Last year's three-week trial peeled back that facade with testimony from jailhouse snitches and Martin MacNeill's former mistress, Gypsy Willis.

Martin MacNeill introduced her as a nanny within weeks of his wife's death, but his older daughters said they quickly recognized the woman as his secret lover and the subject of arguments between their parents.

Family man: MacNeil, seen here with his family, shocked his Mormon community when he gave wife Michele a lethal cocktail of drugs before drowning her in the bath

Family man: MacNeil, seen here with his family, shocked his Mormon community when he gave wife Michele a lethal cocktail of drugs before drowning her in the bath

Prosecutors said Martin MacNeill insisted his 50-year-old wife to get a face-lift and faked his own medical condition to throw off suspicion in the weeks before his wife's death.

They pointed to erratic behavior and what they called phony grief the day she died.

Prosecutors also introduced testimony from former MacNeill cellmates who said he confessed to his wife's death.

Spencer said the jailhouse snitches lied and MacNeill should get a new trial, but the judge denied that motion late last month.


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