Woman gets 60 years in boyfriend’s burning death

By MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A woman who killed her sleeping boyfriend by setting the couch on fire is set to serve 60 years in prison.

Judge Michael Wolverton sentenced Gina Virgilio on Monday for the 2012 death of Michael Gonzalez. She received a 99-year sentence with 39 years suspended, along with 10 years of probation.

She entered a plea agreement in April, and the state agreed to a sentence from 30 years to70 years.

Michael Gonzalez’s brother Austine said he was relieved with the verdict and happy to be done with the seven-year ordeal.

Virgilio told the judge she hates herself for what she did and knows she can’t bring Gonzalez back.

She says she has recovered from the mental illness she suffered from and is trying to improve her life in prison.