Judge cites wife killer’s ‘hardness of heart,’ sentences him to life

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Maureen Karr was the fun one. She made her six siblings and their families laugh at holiday gatherings, took her karaoke machine with her to parties and made beautiful quilts for every baby born into the family.

On Thursday, two of her sisters told Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani that there are no words to describe the pain they still feel nearly four years after their 56-year-old sister was struck in the head, bound and set on fire by her husband in Duquesne.

James Karr, 50, was found guilty by Judge Mariani of second-degree murder, aggravated arson and related counts in July after a non-jury trial. On Thursday, Karr was sentenced to life in prison without parole, with a consecutive 11 to 22 years of incarceration to follow.

Judge Mariani said he did not find Karr guilty of first-degree murder — a premeditated killing — because he had a reasonable doubt that Karr initially went to the home on Friendship Street early Dec. 30, 2014, intending to kill his wife.

Instead, Judge Mariani said some evidence suggested Karr was trying to repair the couple’s relationship, but the situation then turned violent.

Prosecutors said Karr struck his wife before binding her neck, hands and feet with floral wire. He then poured vodka on her and lit a fire.

“The pouring of alcohol on her demonstrates a total hardness of heart,” Judge Mariani said.

Chris Lyon, one of Ms. Karr’s sisters, read a statement during the hearing, saying she knew by the time she got to her sister’s smoldering house that morning who was to blame.

“That was the hold he had on her — taking the things she cared about, her house, her dogs,” she said.

Ms. Lyon said she is reminded of Ms. Karr’s death every day and that she can’t bear to remove her sister’s number from her phone.