MUNISING, MI-- An Alger County judge has upheld his original sentence for a man who accidentally ran over his girlfriend with a pickup truck in 2011, killing her.
Thomas Murdock, 50, was convicted in July of 2012 of operating while intoxicated, causing death. Officials say he had backed over 44-year-old Lisa Hardwick at his home in AuTrain Township. Both had been drinking and smoking marijuana.
Murdock was sentenced to a minimum of two years in prison for the crime—a year less than guidelines suggest. The Michigan Appeals Court said the sentence was too lenient and sent the case back to Alger County Judge William Carmody.
Wednesday Carmody upheld his original sentence. He said sentencing guidelines are only parameters in any case and a judge must take into account many different variables when ruling.
