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PRESTON — With no evidence to back up his claim, Marlin McQueen claimed his victim wanted to be killed.
The judge didn’t buy it.
McQueen, 35, murdered 31-year-old Wilden “Willie” Lovin Jr. on Jan. 26, by stabbing him 25 times. McQueen was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison during an emotional sentencing hearing Thursday. He had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Aug. 22, as part of a plea agreement, which reduced the first-degree murder charge.
“This particular crime seems to have no explanation, no motivation, other than what I’ll describe as a somewhat outlandish, incomprehensible and unbelievable statement about why Mr. McQueen committed the crime that he committed,” District Judge Mitchell Brown said during Thursday’s sentencing.
But McQueen stood by his story.
The hearing revealed that after hours of interrogation, McQueen told investigators Lovin had allegedly confessed to McQueen that he had molested and murdered two little girls in Roy, Utah. After the alleged confession, McQueen said the victim asked McQueen to kill him.
McQueen said he left Lovin’s home, where he was also living, and walked out to his car. That’s when McQueen saw his buck knife and decided he was going to “fulfill his request.”
Read the full article at East Idaho News.
