A teenager pleaded guilty to murder and attempted rape in the death of a teacher at a youth detention facility in Prince George's County, Md.
Fifteen-year-old Brian Wonsom, who was 13 at the time of the killing but faced adult charges, was sentenced in Prince George’s County Circuit Court to 85 years in prison. Defendants convicted of violent crimes in Maryland are eligible for parole after serving half their sentence.
In pleading guilty, Wonsom acknowledged killing Hannah Wheeling, who was found dead in the snow outside a cottage at the Cheltenham Youth Facility in February 2010.
The 65-year-old English teacher from Bel Air reportedly was last seen alive giving a test to Wonsom.
Wonsom was placed at Cheltenham Youth Facility in February 2009 when he was charged in a string of burglaries at the apartment complex where he lived, News4’s Derrick Ward reported. DNA evidence later revealed that he also scaled a neighbor’s third-floor balcony, entered her apartment and stabbed her while she slept.
In a letter the prosecution read in court, that victim, Hannah Pepprah, wrote that she forgave Wonsom in order to move on, but she believes the world is a better place with people like Wonsom off the street.
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