Krishna Follower Gets Life Sentence in Slaying
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A life sentence without the possibility of parole was imposed this week in Kingwood, W. Va., on Thomas Drescher for the 1983 slaying of fellow Hare Krishna devotee Charles Saint Denis.
Drescher, 37, of Ravenna, Ohio, sat expressionless as Preston Circuit Judge Robert Halbritter read the sentencing. Drescher was convicted Dec. 5 by a Preston County jury following a four-day trial.
The state charged that Drescher and Saint Denis had a falling out over a house sale, and that Drescher in 1983 lured him to an isolated spot where he shot him about a dozen times, then used a knife to finish him off.
The body of Saint Denis was never recovered, and the defense sought to show that no murder had occurred. The defense maintained that Saint Denis was a wanderer and was merely roaming about the country. The defense said it will appeal the verdict.
A co-defendant in the Saint Denis case, Daniel Reid of Los Angeles, faces trial in January at Fairmont, W. Va.
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