CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — A woman drew a 23-year prison sentence yesterday for killing her alcoholic boyfriend by lacing a jug of margaritas with antifreeze at her apartment in western New York.
“It’s not as if you were captive in this house,’’ Judge William Kocher said in imposing a near-maximum penalty on Cynthia Galens, who maintained that victim Thomas Stack was emotionally and physically abusive.
“It’s just senseless what you did,’’ he said.
Galens, 52, was convicted of manslaughter in September and faced five years to 25 years in state prison.
“I accept the consequences of my actions,’’ she said. “I am sorry for all the pain I caused everyone. I’m really sorry.’’
Galens was charged with murder in January, three months after Stack, an Air Force veteran, 48, died from complications of ethylene glycol poisoning. A grand jury later opted for a first-degree manslaughter charge, and Galens turned down an offer to plead guilty in exchange for an 18-year sentence.
State police say Galens insisted she wanted to make Stack sick, not kill him, by mixing the toxic automotive chemical into a store-bought container of margarita mix. She said she placed the cocktail in the refrigerator and went to bed early on Oct. 2, 2009, presuming he would drink it. She said Stack drank most of the 1-gallon jug.
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