Woman gets two life sentences without parole in connection with killings

EUFAULA, Okla. (AP) -- A woman facing a trial on two first-degree murder counts pleaded guilty Tuesday and was handed two life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Vicki McElmurry, 25, entered the pleas a day after jury selection began.

McElmurry was also sentenced to 20 years for robbery by force and pleaded guilty to larceny of a car. The sentences will run consecutively.

McElmurry and her husband, Harold McElmurry III, were accused in the Aug. 2, 1999, murders of Vivian Pendley, 75, and her quadriplegic husband, Robert Pendley, 80.

Investigators said the elderly Lenna couple died after being attacked with garden tools, a pipe and scissors.

Harold McElmurry received two death sentences after being convicted for the killings in June. The McElmurrys did odd jobs for the Pendleys.

In a statement in court, Vicki McElmurry apologized to the Pendley family and asked for forgiveness.

She said she and her husband intended to rob the Pendleys but not murder them.

McElmurry claimed she did not participate in the killing of Robert Pendley, but said she held Vivian Pendley down while her husband beat her to death.

After the slayings, the McElmurrys stole the Pendleys' car and fled to Mexico. Texas authorities arrested the couple at a Laredo border crossing.