A California man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder of his former girlfriend more than 40 years ago.
Marcus Sanfratello, 73, was handed the sentence after being convicted of the 1983 homicide of Teresa Peroni, according to an April 21 news release from the Oregon Department of Justice.
Sanfratello pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in Josephine County Circuit Court. According to the release, under the terms of the plea agreement, he will serve a minimum of 10 years.
“For Teresa Peroni’s family, this has been a 43-year wait for an answer they never should have had to wait for,” Oregon Attorney Dan General Rayfield said in a written statement. “Cases like this remind us of why we don’t give up. It doesn’t matter how many years have passed – if someone took a life, we’re going to keep working until we can hold them accountable.”
In July 1983, Peroni, 27, was reported missing after attending a party in the Selma, Oregon, area. The attorney general's office said she was last seen walking in the woods with Sanfratello, her boyfriend at the time.
