Woman’s sentencing in arson death continued
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The Latest on the sentencing of a woman who killed her sleeping boyfriend by setting the couch on fire (all times local):
12:25 p.m.
Sentencing for a woman who has pleaded guilty to setting her sleeping boyfriend on fire and then fleeing the apartment has been continued until Oct. 14.
Gina Virgilio has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the June 2012 death of Michael Gonzalez, just hours after they celebrated his 24th birthday.
Sentencing proceedings for Virgilio started Friday in Anchorage Superior Court, and included impact statements from the victim’s family members from Milwaukee. The sentencing phase didn’t end before the state court closed at noon, which occurs every Friday as a budget-saving measure.
Gonzalez’ family members described Virgilio as a monster, and said they have been waiting seven years for closure. They asked Judge Michael Wolverton to give her the maximum sentence. Under terms of a plea deal reached in April, the state is suggesting a sentence of between 30 years and 70 years.
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8:41 a.m.
An Anchorage woman who soaked a couch with gasoline and then set it on fire, killing her sleeping boyfriend, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday to first-degree murder.
Gina Virgilio told police officers at the time that she heard Michael Gonzalez say “hot, hot” before she shut the door on their apartment and fled on June 8, 2012.
Virgilio entered a plea agreement with the state in April just as she was to go on trial in the death of her 24-year-old boyfriend.
Her sentence is expected to be between 30 and 70 years.
AP-WF-10-04-19 2026GMT