FORT SMITH -- A woman who admitted strangling a 67-year-old woman to death with a lamp cord was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison.
Robin Jones, 46, pleaded guilty in Sebastian County Circuit Court to charges of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery during a pretrial hearing before Circuit Judge James Cox. She had been scheduled to go on trial during the week of Sept. 17.
Jones was charged with beating Margaret Scamardo with a lamp in her home at 421 N. 39th St. and strangling her with the lamp cord. She also admitted stealing Scamardo's pickup, which police recovered later from a residence in Van Buren.
Cox sentenced Jones to 30 years in prison on each count, with 10 years suspended, and ordered the sentences to run concurrently, or at the same time.
Police discovered Scamardo's body five days after her death. After failing to show up at work for days, her employer called police to check on her. When officers arrived, they found a strong smell of natural gas inside.
Gas and electric companies were called to turn off service to the home before officers could enter and find Scamardo dead on her living room floor.
Jones was developed as a person of interest and interviewed, during which she admitted getting into a fight with Scamardo that ended with her death.
She was a person of interest because of at least three complaints Scamardo had made to police in the weeks before her death that Jones was stealing from her.
The introduction of those complaints as evidence at Jones' upcoming trial was the purpose of Wednesday's hearing.
State Desk on 09/07/2018