Life Sentence For Man Who Murdered Teen

(ONN) – A convicted sex offender who admitted killing a 13-year-old girl while high on meth has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Ashtabula County’s prosecutor says the plea spares 48-year-old John Bove from a potential death penalty and also spares Kara Zdanczewski’s family from a recounting of her murder in 2017.

Bove pleaded guilty to charges including aggravated murder and rape.

News 5 in Cleveland reports a police affidavit indicates Bove told investigators he took the girl intending to trade her back to her family in exchange for a drug debt her father owed.

Her body was later found in a field roughly 50 miles northeast of Cleveland.