MAYS LANDING, N.J. – A New Jersey woman convicted of fatally beating her boyfriend with a fireplace poker has been sentenced to 30 years in prison with no chance for parole.
Atlantic County prosecutors say Eileen Leone was sentenced Friday. It was made public on Tuesday.
The 46-year-old Margate woman was convicted of murder in January. Prosecutors have said she attacked 32-year-old Darius Smith from behind in the Egg Harbor Township home where they lived with their 4-year-old child.
Prosecutors say the June 2006 attack came after the couple had been arguing all day. They say Leone repeatedly struck Smith from behind as he sat on a couch.
An autopsy determined Smith died from blunt-force trauma to the head.
Leone had claimed that an unknown person or group entered the house and attacked Smith.
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