Woman Gets Reduction in Sentence

A woman sentenced to life in prison for the killing of a Lawrence man in 2014 had her sentence reduced by 25 years.

Sarah Gonzales-McLinn had been sentenced to 50 years in prison without the possibility of parole for the death of 52-year-old Harold Sasko.

Now, a judge has agreed to a recommendation from prosecutors and her defense attorney that Gonzales-McLinn be resentenced to allow for parole after 25 years.

The agreement acknowledged that Gonzales-McLinn received ineffective counsel during her 2015 trial.

Her attorney counseled her to reject a plea agreement that would have included the “hard 25” sentence.

Sasko and Gonzales-McLinn were living together when he was killed.

Prosecutors said he was drugged and bound, and nearly decapitated.

Gonzales-McLinn supporters suggested Sasko was abusing her at the time.

His family disputes those claims.