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Man Gets 29½ To 67 Years After No Contest Plea In 2013 Death

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UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A man has been sentenced to 29½ to 67 years in the slaying of a woman whose body was recovered from a western Pennsylvania river 4½ years ago.

The (Uniontown) Herald-Standard reports that a Fayette County judge on Tuesday sentenced 28-year-old Paul Bannasch following his no contest plea to a charge of 3rd-degree murder.

The former Hopwood resident told the court "I'm just sorry."

His co-defendant, 28-year-old Craig Rugg of Connellsville, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and other charges and was sentenced to life in prison in 2015.

Prosecutors said the two met 52-year-old Margaret Kriek of Connellsville in a bar in June 2013, beat her in the train station parking lot, and then pushed her down an embankment into the Youghiogheny River.

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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