Mom and son sentenced to life for fatally stabbing her half-brother, pawning his belongings
03/03/2023 4:03 pm PST
BLANCHARD, Okla. (TCD) -- A mother and son from Texas were sentenced to life in prison without parole for stabbing the woman’s half-brother to death and partially burning down his house.
The 21st Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced Feb. 24 that a jury found Debbie Senft and Zachary Mussett guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree arson for the death of 56-year-old Michael "Andy" McGuffee. The mother-son duo received life sentences for murder and 35 years for arson.
Senft and Mussett were taken into custody in Wyoming on Oct. 22, 2021. According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, on Oct. 15, 2021, McGuffee’s wife received a call that he had not shown up to work, so she contacted a family member to go to their home and check on him. The relative went to McGuffees' residence on the 8300 block of Garvin Drive and "saw signs of a fire."
The Blanchard Police Department arrived at the scene and found McGuffee deceased. Agents from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation determined someone started a fire and stole items from the home, including his pickup truck. Some of those personal belongings were pawned at a shop in Salina, Kansas. Investigators located McGuffee’s pickup truck at a car wash in Oklahoma City.
Investigators eventually located Senft and Mussett in Wyoming and the pair was pulled over on the I-80 driving a moving van.
According to KFOR-TV, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Brook Arbeitman said McGuffee had suffered stab wounds and the fire that broke out at his house "didn’t seem like it was naturally occurring."
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