People v. Weiskopff

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Chemung County (Buckley, J.), rendered October 20, 2003, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of murder in the second degree.

During the early morning hours of October 5, 1997, defendant and a codefendant unlawfully entered a home in the Town of Veteran, Chemung County, in search of valuables. When they encountered a female occupant, they restrained her and took turns raping her. She died of strangulation during the attack and the two threw her lifeless body down the stairs to make her death look accidental. They then set fire…