Novi Man Gets Life In Prison In Killing Of Elderly Neighbor While Out On Parole
PONTIAC (WWJ/AP) - A Novi man who was convicted of murdering his 84-year-old neighbor while he was out on parole for another killing will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
An Oakland County jury deliberated for a little more than an hour in September before returning its verdict against 47-year-old Peter Gerard Jones.
The Detroit Free Press reports he was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the chance for parole — the mandatory term for first-degree murder.
Bernice Schaufele's body was found Jan. 13 in her home in the 20900 block of West Glen Haven Circle at the Country Place condo complex, located near 8 Mile and Meadowbrook roads, about 20 miles northwest of Detroit.
Schaufele's daughter found the body when she'd come to check on her mother after she failed to show up for a doctor's appointment.
Authorities say Jones, who lived two doors down from Schaufele, strangled and stabbed her and then stole money and jewelry to buy crack cocaine.
He'd served time after he pleaded no contest to manslaughter in the fatal stabbing of a Detroit man in 1997 but was free parole when he killed again.
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