Man gets 50 years for murder

Published 7:24 pm Monday, April 5, 2010

A Suffolk man was sentenced Monday to 50 years in the penitentiary for murdering his landlady in January 2008.

Antonio Pope received the sentence for the murder of 49-year-old Mable Anderson. A jury found him guilty in December and recommended a 50-year sentence for the first-degree murder, in addition to five years for shoot, stab cut or wound.

Police investigating a missing person report filed by Anderson’s family found her body wrapped in trash bags inside her home in January 2008. Pope, who had been living there, left a fingerprint on the garbage bag covering her head, prosecutor Will Jamerson said. His DNA also was found on her body, and witnesses saw him there the day her body was found. Anderson had been struck in the head nine times, according to an autopsy report. The hammer used to inflict the wounds was found in Pope’s room among his personal papers with the victim’s DNA on it, Jamerson said.

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Pope also pawned Anderson’s jewelry at shops in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.

In addition to his sentence, Pope was ordered to pay restitution of $9,579.50, which includes Anderson’s funeral costs, as well as court costs of $3,440.