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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma man who pleaded guilty to murder in a gruesome machete attack on his friend was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Payne County Special Judge Phillip Corley sentenced 22-year-old Isaiah Marin after Marin waived his right to a preliminary hearing and entered a plea of guilty to first-degree murder. Prosecutors say Marin nearly severed 19-year-old Jacob Andrew Crockett's head during the Oct. 29 attack in Stillwater.
District Attorney Laura Austin Thomas described Marin as an "extremely dangerous person." She had been seeking the death penalty but said she agreed to the plea agreement after consulting with Crockett's family.
"The appeal possibilities on a verdict of death from a jury are very, very broad. For the next 15 to 18 years, you're in an appeal process and they can allege everything under the sun," Thomas said.
"There are members of the (victim's) family that really were ready for the criminal proceedings to be at an end."
Marin's attorneys initially sought a competency hearing that had been scheduled to begin Wednesday, but court records show Marin's attorneys stipulated that Marin was competent to stand trial. Defense attorney Peter Astor didn't immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.
According to police, Marin called 911 and told the dispatcher he had just killed someone, adding: "I hacked him to death with a machete." An officer reported finding Marin walking along a highway holding the weapon.
Thomas described Marin as a heavy drug user from a "highly dysfunctional family," but said the motive for the attack was unclear.
"We're never going to know what the motive was," Thomas said. "He's mean."
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