James Fisher

The News Journal

GEORGETOWN – A handyman who pleaded guilty to raping and killing a 70-year-old woman in his neighborhood got two life sentences and an additional 75-year sentence in a Tuesday court hearing.

Michael D. Purnell, 45, of Millsboro, was convicted in March of second-degree murder, first-degree rape, burglary and possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony. Purnell was arrested in November 2011 after neighbors discovered Dorothy L. Gudger, 70, of the Oak Orchard area, dead in her home.

Police said Purnell, who’d done repair work for Gudger, raped her on Oct. 31, 2011, then strangled her with a belt and suffocated her with a plastic bag. At the time, Purnell was a registered sex offender with several previous criminal convictions, including ones on charges of identity theft and escaping from work release. The month before he killed Gudger, he’d been convicted of felony theft from a senior citizen in Kent County, court records show, but a two-year prison sentence for that crime was suspended in lieu of a year of probation.

Purnell initially pleaded not guilty to his charges and was preparing for a trial, but in March, he pleaded guilty to five offenses.

Miller said Superior Court Judge E. Scott Bradley handed down the two life sentences for the murder and rape counts. Purnell was sentenced to 25 years apiece for the remaining three counts.

Gudger’s daughter, Carol Taylor, talked about her mother’s death in testimony before the state Legislature about the death penalty, arguing against the punishment’s repeal. Jason Miller, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, said prosecutors had sought a life sentence for Purnell after his guilty plea.

Contact James Fisher at 983-6772, on Twitter @JamesFisherTNJ or jfisher@delawareonline.com.