A woman who admitted to killing her 80-year-old mother-in-law was sentenced Tuesday to 23 years in prison after the victim's daughter told her she should be behind bars until her "last breath."
Diana Nadell, 51, of Cutler Bay, Florida, had pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 2014 killing of Peggy Nadell at her suburban New York home. Peggy Nadell had a multimillion-dollar estate, and prosecutors said Diana Nadell wanted access to the portion that would go to her husband when his mother died. The husband has not been charged.
The Rockland County district attorney's office said Diana Nadell hired an accomplice and traveled north to her mother-in-law's home in Valley Cottage, New York. The pair then used a late-night phone call to lure Peggy Nadell to the door, then went inside and killed her by beating, choking and stabbing her.
Peggy Nadell's daughter, Susanne Nadell-Scaccio, found her body in the morning. Before the judge sentenced Diana Nadell on Tuesday, Nadell-Scaccio, delivering a victim impact statement, told her, "I hope you stay in prison until you take your last breath," The Journal News reported.
Nadell-Scaccio's husband, Robert Scaccio, then cursed at Diana Nadell and was ejected from the courtroom.
Diana Nadell told the judge: "I am very sorry for my actions."
The accomplice, Andrea Benson of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for a 20-year sentence, which was imposed later Tuesday. Two other women pleaded guilty to hindering prosecution.
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Diana Nadell also pleaded guilty to attempted witness tampering and was sentenced to 5 to 15 years, to be served during the murder sentence. The district attorney said that Nadell, while in jail, approached a fellow inmate and asked her to take part in a scheme to murder two witnesses who were cooperating with the prosecution.
