Two 15-year-old British girls were sentenced to life in prison for a woman's murder and torture, which they documented through photographs posted to Snapchat.
The girls, who were aged 13 and 14 at the time of the crime and the product of multiple foster homes, used a shovel, a TV and computer printer, among other items to inflict more than 100 wounds on 39-year-old Angela Wrightson. About 80 of the wounds were to her face.
Wrightson was found partly naked in her living room in December 2014. Described by neighbors as an alcoholic who invited strangers into her home to fight her loneliness, she was a popular figure in the area.
Lawyers said she considered the two girls friends before the teens restrained her, and tortured her for nine hours, stopping occasionally to take photographs they posted on Snapchat.
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| British teens get life for torture, murder of woman posted on Snapchat |
Witnesses described them as "devils" who began taking drugs and drinking at age 11. The older girl, known in the case as Girl A was described by a social worker as the most volatile young person she had ever met. While Girl B used her phone to take the pictures and boast to their friends of the act.
Wrightson's family released a statement saying they would be haunted by the trial for the rest of their lives and that, "as a family we were not as close as we ought to have been. The chance to put that right has been taken away from us."
Both teens will be eligible for parole after serving a minimum of 15 years in prison.
