GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (WOOD) — The Ottawa County man convicted of murdering his neighbor while she was clearing snow from her property will spend the rest of his life in prison.
A judge handed Wendell Popejoy the state-mandated life sentence for his first-degree murder conviction, saying he showed now regard for Sheila Bonge’s life when he shot and killed her on her Crockery Township property.
The deadly shooting happened Dec. 26, 2017.
In his written confession, Popejoy reportedly said that was not sorry Bonge was gone.
On Monday, Bonge’s sister, Val Flaherty, read a victim impact statement to the court as a stone faced Popejoy stared in the distance.
Flaherty dispelled comments from neighbors during the trial who said Bonge was a mean nuisance. She described her sister as caring, mentioning how Bonge reportedly worked with the elderly.
Popejoy was also sentenced to 24 months for an additional weapons conviction.