A 36-year-old blind woman found guilty of manslaughter in the death of a fellow resident of an assisted-living facility will not do time in prison.
Angelic B. Norris was sentenced Monday to five years of probation by Saunders County District Court Judge Mary C. Gilbride. Norris will live at an assisted-living facility in Omaha while on probation.
Norris could have been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Saunders County Attorney Scott Tingelhoff said he recommended probation for Norris after consulting with the family of the victim, Elizabeth Collins.
"Everyone agrees this was an accident," Tingelhoff said. "We discussed the options with the family of the victim and they felt that (probation) was an appropriate sentence."
John Pinkerton, owner of Liberty House in Wahoo, Neb., where Norris and Collins lived, said Norris has been in mourning for her friend. He said Norris has talked of wishing she were the one who was killed.
"I think every eye was watering in that courtroom when Angie talked about missing Elizabeth," Pinkerton said. "Angie sure is not a danger to anybody. This case was no different than if there were two kids roughhousing and one of them died."
Tingelhoff said Norris and Collins, 56, were arguing on the evening of Sept. 18, 2010, when Collins was shoved and hit her head. She died the next day at BryanLGH Medical Center West in Lincoln.
Tingelhoff said the lengthy term of probation will ensure Norris remains under judicial supervision. With no criminal history, it's likely Norris would have faced six months to a year in jail.
"The definition of manslaughter is an unintentional killing," Tingelhoff said. "There is absolutely zero evidence that (Norris) meant to kill the victim."
Contact the writer:
402-444-1272, kevin.cole@owh.com
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