San Diego
A mother and daughter who pleaded guilty to soliciting a man to kill their husbands were sentenced Thursday to prison terms.
Judith East, 45, of Paradise Hills dabbed a tissue to her eyes when San Diego Superior Court Judge Andrew Wagner sentenced her to nine years in prison. Her daughter, Venise Morris (also known as Venise Amati), 28, of La Mesa broke down and cried as she was led away by a bailiff after being given a six-year sentence. Both women were fined $1,000.
The women pleaded guilty Feb. 10 to soliciting a man they thought was a hit man but actually was an undercover police officer.
No murder attempt occurred, and the women were arrested in September, 1988.
Both husbands were estranged from their wives at the time, and neither was in court for the sentencing.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Eichler urged the longer term for the mother, calling her “a criminal sociopath.” She has a prior grand theft conviction, he said.
“She has no regard for truth and no regard for someone’s life.”
The prosecutor said East offered life insurance policies on her husband as collateral to the undercover officer. He said East was mad at her husband because he had had an affair.
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