A homeless woman convicted more than a year ago for choking and strangling a man to death with a shoelace was finally sentenced to no less than 17 years and up to life in prison.
Kelly Harnett, 33, was convicted in 2013 for the death of Ruben Angel Vargas. Vargas, 32, died in 2010 when a homeless Harnett and her boyfriend Thomas Donovan jumped and attacked him in Astoria Park. Prosecutors said Harnett used her sneaker’s shoelace to kill Vargas and take his wallet. Vargas was also kicked repeatedly in his head and chest before being left to die.
Investigators at the time said both Harnett and Donovan pointed fingers at the other one. Harnett told cops Vargas propositioned her, but a jury convicted her two years later.
Donovan pleaded guilty soon after the arrest and is already serving 15 years in an upstate cell.
“This willful act of violence warranted a lengthy prison term,” Queens District Attorney Richard Brown wrote in a statement.
Homeless woman sentenced to life for strangling man with shoelace
Jan Vargas/Flickr
