Sixteen-year-old Daniel Deese pled guilty to manslaughter in August and was sentenced on Wednesday to 40 years in prison – the maximum sentence.
Deese pled guilty for the death of 78-year-old Norco woman Mary Nancy Arico last year.
His sister, Pauline Deese, pled guilty to accessory after the fact to manslaughter and was sentenced to a five-year suspended sentence, including three years of active probation. However, Judge Robert Chaisson told her that if she was arrested for anything else he would revoke her sentencing and send her to jail.
Police say that Pauline, 18, knew about the murder and lied to detectives when questioned. Court documents say she also helped burn her brother’s clothing in an attempt to conceal the crime and burned knives that may have been used in the homicide.
She also must participate in drug treatment as part of her plea deal. She was arrested this summer for distribution of Xanax and possession of Heroin.
According to court documents, Daniel attacked Arico with several kitchen knives on Nov. 8, 2010 and then hit Arico in the head with a microwave when she did not die after the stab wounds. Arico’s death went undiscovered for weeks because she rarely socialized with neighbors. Through an autopsy, it was determined that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head along with multiple stab wounds.
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