WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) - A Massachusetts man convicted of killing a woman who wanted to hire him to kill or injure her ex-boyfriend was sentenced Friday to life in prison.
Donovan Goparian was found guilty last month by a Worcester Superior Court jury of first-degree murder in the November 2015 death of Marie Martin.
Goparian’s attorney, Mark Shea, said Friday that his client continues to maintain his innocence and plans to appeal, The Worcester Telegram reported.
Martin was shot in the head and her body was burned inside her car, authorities said.
The 35-year-old Webster woman had arranged to meet Goparian to hire him to kill or seriously injure her ex-boyfriend, authorities said. Martin and her former boyfriend were involved in a custody battle involving their 5-year-old daughter, officials said.
Goparian’s former girlfriend took the stand as a prosecution witnesses and testified that she was present when Goparian set Martin’s car on fire. She did not know a body was in the vehicle.
Goparian’s lawyer argued at trial that police did not conduct a thorough investigation into Martin’s death and that many of the prosecution witnesses lied.
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