Bangor, ME woman gets six years for scalding, sexually assaulting man

A 28 year old Bangor, ME woman was sentenced to 6 years in the Maine prison system yesterday for sexually assaulting, then scalding a now 43 year old man. Laura M. Smith plead guilty in June to elevated aggravated assault and gross sexual assault for scalding her victim with boiling water and sexually assaulting him with a wooden dowel on November 28, 2009.

The 43-year-old man, who is not being identified by the Bangor Daily News, was passed out at a party at Smith’s First Street apartment in Bangor. In addition to suffering second-degree burns on his back, the man’s bowel was perforated, according to court documents. The victim also suffered a broken ankle when Smith and another man moved him to his apartment. He was hospitalized for more than a month, according to previous reports.

Superior Court Justice William Anderson sentenced Smith to 18 years in prison with six to serve and four years probation afterwards. Penobscot County district attorney Michael Roberts and  defense attorney David Bate agreed on the 18 year sentence, but Roberts believe only 6 years of the sentence should be suspended. Bate did not give a sentencing recommendation.

Just before the sentencing, Smith said “I am truly sorry for the pain and suffering I caused. I truly, truly am sorry for all that you have been through.” The victim was not present during Smith's sentencing. Smith also tried to partially excuse herself by claiming the attack was due to her alcoholism.

The following is Judge Anderson's sentencing statement. “Although this was a barbaric and depraved act, I can’t conclude it was done for sexual gratification as the statute defines the crime. It seems to have begun as a cruel, painful and degrading prank. The person who did it was not really aware of how horribly painful this was going to be to the victim. There’s absolutely no reason in the world for this to have happened.”

Smith will be credited for the time she has served in the Penobscot County Jail. After release, she will have to register as a sex offender for a decade.

Woman sentenced to life without parole for burning death of husband

A Wells, ME woman who killed her husband by burning his while he was asleep was sentenced to life without parole on Thursday, October 29. Kimberly Spampinato, 42, killed her husband Chris, 39 because he wanted a divorce, and was cheating on her with a Texas woman, according to prosecutors. Kim plead guilty to 1st degree murder in August, and was sentenced to 30 years concurrently for 1st degree arson.

York County Justice Paul Fritzsche imposed the maximum sentence for both counts because “In this case, the person was murdered in a way that was particularly cruel … and unusually horrible...There is only one sentence that can be imposed.” Kim had written letters to her victim's family members claiming that she had killed seven other people. An excerpt said that “Killing your brother was fun; it still puts a smile on my face; I only wish I could’ve made the pain last longer.”

Her lack of an apology or remorse during the sentencing hearing was also an aggravating factor.

On Jan. 8, while Christopher slept, Kimberly Spampinato doused him and rolled up newspapers in gasoline, setting the paper and her husband on fire in his Wells apartment, said Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese, a state prosecutor in the case.

Christopher ran out of the apartment and was found by police badly burned and sitting in a snow bank that night, she said. He died nine days later on Jan. 17 in the burn unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, according to court records.

Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese asked for a sentence of 55 years to life for Spampinato. She said Thursday in court that extreme cruelty was evident in the case because Christopher was alive for a period of time and conscious while he waited for an ambulance to arrive and during the ambulance ride. “He must have known he was going to die,” she said.

Premeditation was also evident, said Marchese, as Spampinato purchased gas in the afternoon of the murder, had to roll out the newspaper, drench the bed with gas and light it afire.

Marchese described the murder as “domestic violence at its worst,” as Christopher had decided to leave the relationship and Kimberly felt she was losing control. “People should be able to leave a relationship safely,” she said. “She presents a real danger to society.”

The victim's mother, Ann Cabot, said about her former daughter-in-law, “This sick, violent individual should not be allowed the privilege of taking another breath.”

Chris' sister, Jennifer Cabot stated that "Sometimes I can wake up and smell the burn unit where I watched him die slowly." She wanted to remember her brother for the "amazing person that he was...True justice would be the end of Kim’s life in the same manner she ended Chris’ life,” she concluded.
 
Donald Stevens, who was married to Kimberly Spampinato for 18 years, spoke at length during the hearing, delineating years of abuse that he and his son experienced from her. “There were nights when I would be awoken with the touch of a knife blade to my throat,” he said. “In my case, I was lucky enough to be awake to defend myself.”

 Stevens said that Spampinato “loves to control and manipulate any way she can” and said he would fear for his family if she were ever to be let out of prison.“We want to go on with our lives and not go on looking over our shoulder,” said Stevens. “If she is ever paroled, there is no doubt she will kill again.”

 The couple’s son, Donald Stevens III, told the court how his mother attacked him with a knife when he was a teenager and said he was asking for a life sentence “because she’s a very dangerous threat.”

Sarah Churchill said that the murder was premeditated, stating that a person can be tortured to death for long periods of time.She cited her client's history of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse during childhood, leading to mental illness. The letters about the murder were “more a result of her mental illness than anything else.”

Kim herself stated that “I would not be angry to get a life sentence at all. It would be a relief. I took responsibility for this and gave a full confession. I’ve been waiting 10 months for this day, to be sentenced and move on.”

Woman appeals rape conviction

Stephanie Stark, convicted of the rape of two young women, is appealing her 7-year prison sentence for rape to the Maine Supreme Court, stating that the sentence was too harsh, higher that what the state was seeking.

Stark and another defendant, Peter Mills, were convicted of raping three women, two of which worked with Mills in a Southwest Harbor restaurant. The drug assisted rape of the college women took place June 15, 2005 at Mills' home in Bar Harbor. A 48 year old woman was raped two days later at Stark's Surry home.

The article says,

“The court’s use of a predetermined sentence imposed two days before the sentencing hearing infringes on defendant’s right to counsel at sentencing,” Mr. Smith wrote. “The defendant was prejudiced by the court’s failure to consider the defendant’s mitigating witnesses and rebuttal arguments.”

Mr. Smith also pointed out that, while Ms. Stark was acquitted of the charge of engaging in forcible rape, the judge’s sentencing analysis included a “finding of physical force.”

“The court should not be allowed to substitute its own factual findings where the jury has held that force was not used,” he said.

Finally, Mr. Smith claimed that Judge Brodrick did not consider Ms. Stark’s low score on a risk assessment test, which indicated she was unlikely to commit another crime.


Stark is being held at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham. Smith filed his own appeal earlier this month.

Reference

Stark Seeks Rape Sentence Appeal