Man Gets 25 Years to Life in Prison For Killing NYC Violinist

Jonathan Conklin, 45, was sentenced Wednesday in Chautauqua County Court, where he pleaded guilty in November to a second-degree murder charge in the slaying of Mary Whitaker of Manhattan

One of two men who killed a New York City violinist  inside her upstate summer home in 2014 has been sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison.

Jonathan Conklin, 45, was sentenced Wednesday in Chautauqua County Court, where he pleaded guilty in November to a second-degree murder charge in the slaying of Mary Whitaker of Manhattan.

The 61-year-old member of the Westchester Philharmonic spent summers performing in the orchestra at the Chautauqua Institution, a lakeside arts and intellectual community in western New York.

Authorities say Conklin and Charles Sanford were homeless when they shot and stabbed Whitaker during a burglary at her summer home in Westfield. Sanford pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in September.

Conklin and the 31-year-old Sanford face sentencing Thursday in Buffalo on federal carjacking charges for stealing Whitaker's vehicle.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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