March 26, 2015 By Michael Florio
A 33-year-old woman was sentenced to 17 years in prison today for her role in the brutal death of a man in Astoria Park on July 7, 2010.
Kelly Harnett, from Shore Blvd in Astoria, was convicted of killing Ruben Vargas, 32, by choking him with a shoelace and kicking him repeatedly in the head and torso while he lay on the ground motionless.
Vargas was walking through Astoria Park at about 4 am when Harnett and another defendant Thomas Donovan attacked him.
“The victim was robbed of his wallet and viciously beaten and choked to death,” said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. “This willful act of violence warranted a lengthy prison term.”
Harnett was convicted of second-degree murder and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Donovan pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter in 2010 and is serving a 15-year prison sentence.
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2 Comments
But the boyfriend only got 15 years, she got 17. Crazy short sentences.
She got off lightly. This was a brutal, deliberate murder committed during a robbery. Why was it classified second degree, not first? She must have cut a deal to rat out the boyfriend.